WTC final win could galvanise South Africa's cricketing fraternity: Sanjay Bangar
"This is a year of underdogs, and it could be a very good story for the relevance and the importance of the World Test Championship," Sanjay Bangar said.
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South Africa are set to lock horns with Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London. The one-off encounter gets underway on Wednesday, June 11. The Proteas have not won an ICC title at the senior level since 1998. However, under Temba Bavuma's reign, the Rainbow Nation can end the drought this week against defending champions Australia.
Former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar explained how winning the WTC final can play a significant role in galvanising the cricket fraternity in South Africa and inspiring a generation of budding talents. He also drew parallels with how the 1983 World Cup win became the catalyst for a newfound self-belief for India.
“This is a year of underdogs, and it could be a very good story for the relevance and the importance of the World Test Championship. And also because what happens is that if you have a big win as a country, then that has the potential to galvanise the cricketing fraternity in that particular nation. So if that has to happen, it will be fantastic for the growth of South Africa,” JioStar expert Sanjay Bangar said ahead of the highly-anticipated summit clash.
“They are a very proud sporting nation, and so far, the glory has, somehow, slipped away from them on critical occasions. But if these bunch of South African players can do that, then it will inspire a generation of young South African players, and there won't be any dearth of talent. What they may require is a little bit of a eureka moment, which was the fact for India in 1983 that ‘yes we can go out and do very well on the world stage. So, that is the significance from the South African point of view,’” he added.
I don't see any weak links in Australia: Bangar
The cricketer-turned-expert said that there are no chinks in Australia's armour. Bangar also highlighted the depth in Australia's batting, with the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon capable of contributing with important runs down the order.
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“As far as the weak links are concerned, I don't see any weak links in Australia, very honestly, because they have some experienced batters, they have an experienced bowling attack. They also have depth in the batting lineup because even Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, can contribute with the bat. So, it's going to be hard work, but cricket is not played on reputation. Players from both teams will have, two chances in those two innings to be the performer. So let's hope and see that if South Africa can do that, that'll be brilliant for South African cricket,” Bangar concluded.
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