‘My focus mentally is on the ODI series’ – Amla

Hashim Amla, who has been opted as a new captain for the Proteas test side, has said that initially, he is a lot more focused on the ODI series against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka which precedes the Test series. Whereas in the past, South Africa have struggled to put up a good show against Sri Lanka which Amla hopes to reverse on this tour.

“Although I have had a few weeks to give the captaincy a little bit more thought, but nothing much has changed,” Amla said. “I think a lot will change once the series starts, but up until then, my focus mentally is on the one-day series.”

Amla has been playing for Surrey in the County Championship which comprise of four day games. The veteran batsman has also been a pick in the T20 matches recently for Surrey which fall under the category of Natwest T20 Blast.

“Fortunately, I was in the UK playing county cricket in preparation for this tour, but in my mind I have been thinking about the ODIs and hopefully we can make amends. The captaincy will come at a later stage.”

South Africa is ranked No.2 in the current ICC rankings for the Test teams but Amla believes that his side is not quite anxious about this perspective. The 31 year old thinks that having a winning formula is important and once they get through this phase, they would achieve the No.1 spot.

“From a rankings perspective, we have dropped to No 2, but that is not at the forefront of our objectives. We would love to be there [No. 1] as soon as possible but with the kind of new make-up team we have, it’s important to find a winning formula first and things will fall into place later.”

South Africa has played a total of 13 One Day Internationals from which they have managed only one win. Speaking about their Test record, the Saffers have registered only one win in the seven matches they have played. South Africa has been a top class Test side and they would be hoping to turn things around to their side on this sojourn.

The ODI series will kick off from 6th July at Colombo.