South Africa spin bowler Keshav Maharaj has passed the captain’s armband to teammate David Miller ahead of Wednesday’s first T20I match against England in Bristol.
With regular limited-overs skipper Temba Bavuma out injured and missing the hele series against England, the Proteas have a different captain for each format.
Maharaj and his 50-over team finished their three-match series against the hosts on Sunday, with a washout in the decider ensuring a 1-1 series draw.
And next up is Miller for his three T20Is, before Dean Elgar takes charge of the team for the three Tests.
Maharaj, though, doesn’t expect there to be any hiccups during the handover period and believes the 50-over team has given the 20-over manne some momentum after “finding some rhythm to their play”.
He adds of the T20s: “I’m looking forward to it, I’m not the captain of that team so I can’t say much. But I’m looking forward to it. I’m sure you’ll see much of the same faces [in the team].”
That's a wrap for the ODIs. On to the T20Is 🏏#ENGvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/eZUPSHHbKg
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) July 25, 2022
One man who Miller, who had captained South Africa twice before against Pakistan in 2019, will bank on is in-form batsman Quinton de Kock.
Scoring an unbeaten 92 off 76 balls before rain washed out Sunday’s ODI decider with SA on 159/2, Maharaj says of de Kock: “Quinny is probably back to his best - his skill level is one of the best in the world… I’m just happy that Quinny has found his form again.”
With the T20 World Cup coming up in October, South Africa would not only look to win the series against England, but fine-tune their squad for the global showpiece as well.