'AB de Villiers's absence is opportunity'
Hashim Amla, the South Africa captain, spoke like his silky batting while he was talking ahead of the first ODI of the three-match series at Mirpur yesterday. He showed respect to his opponents, who have been playing a good brand of cricket since the World Cup. But there was no shortage of confidence about his team's chances to beat a high-flying Bangladesh.
"We have been here quite a few times over the last few years so I think everyone has gained a lot of experience playing in the subcontinent. I have also played here and been fortunate to get some runs against Bangladesh. The other guys played well in the T20s and we hope to join these experiences into the series," said a confident Amla.
There have been a lot of talks about the battle of spin in the series, so the question also came to him, but he reminded everybody that his pace attack had also got the ability to do well in any condition.
"It depends on the wicket like it did in the T20Is where spin played a major factor. Imran Tahir is one of the best spinners in the limited-over versions of the game, so it's great to have him back in our team and Phangi [Aaron Phangiso] has done extremely well for us.
"It is hard to say if there will be a battle of spin, traditionally South Africa have a very good seam attack and even though the wicket may turn, the seam bowlers can do well as well. So it will be a kind of mixture for us and we are excited to see how we manage that," responded Amla.
The South Africa skipper said: "Who won't miss AB de Villiers in the team?"
But he also believed it created a chance for somebody else to prove himself.
"We have a lot of new guys in the bowling attack. And AB is not around so it gives the batters an opportunity. So I think this type of thing is really healthy to go into a long season. I hope we will be seeing some good performances," he added.
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