Pretoria: Ahead of the inaugural season of Cricket South Africa’s SA20, the Pretoria Capitals have assembled a strong squad at the recent Player Auction on September 19. Before the player auction held in Cape Town, the Capitals had signed pace duo of Anrich Nortje (who is also a part of Delhi Capitals in the IPL) and Migael Pretorius.
The Capitals, who are part of a six-team tournament that is slated to be played in January-February next year, have signed on players like the hard-hitting South Africa batter Rilee Rossouw, and local hero Theunis de Bruyn apart from New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and ace England leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
The franchise has already signed up Graham Ford as head coach, with Jacques Kallis and Dale Benkenstein as assistant coaches.
“The auction was quite an experience, it was fun but stressful. I think at the end of the day I think we’re pretty happy with how things happened. All in all, with the money we had, we’ve done pretty well,” said Ford after the auction ended.
Talking about some of the big names in the squad, Ford remarked, “Rilee Rossouw has been fantastic over the last couple of years, internationally and at the franchise level. Left hand batter who is highly explosive and dominant. It’s a huge local signing and something to get really excited about.”
“And then there’s Theunis de Bruyn, who at the domestic level has been superb over a good period. They are two standout players.”
Kallis, also the batting coach of the Capitals, who is currently in India playing the second season of Legends League Cricket, believes the squad has covered all bases. “We’ve got a nice balance of experience and youth, some exciting players. We have a well-balanced squad and most of our bases are covered.”
“I am confident that we’ve got a good squad that take on all conditions that will be there in South Africa and be successful. A lot of hard work has gone into the squad from behind the scenes from the management and staff. The guys are really excited about the players we have got and they’re excited to start the season.”
Asked about his coaching philosophy, Kallis explained, “When you work with a team for a month or so, it’s very difficult to make big changes and it’s more about giving us options and going through their roles, being very clear on that.”
“For me it’s about gelling as a team and playing some good entertaining cricket that the crowds will enjoy and people will come and watch. And above all, have fun as teammates, and that’s when teams tend to do well, when the guys are having fun.”
Pretoria Capitals squad: Anrich Nortje, Migael Pretorius, Rilee Rossouw, Phil Salt, Wayne Parnell, Josh Little, Shaun von Berg, Adil Rashid, Cameron Delport, Will Jacks, Theunis de Bruyn, Marco Marais, Phil Salt, Kusal Mendis, Daryn Dupavillon, Jimmy Neesham, Eathan Bosch, Shane Dadswell.
–IANS