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Having climbed to second place in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings, South Africa will now turn their attention to Bangladesh in their ongoing campaign.
Although Bangladesh are ranked lower in the WTC standings than South Africa's previous opponents, Australia, the hosts will be keen to maintain their momentum and continue their push for a place in next year's WTC Final. "In international cricket, you can't take any series for granted," Kagiso Rabada told the reporters ahead of the two-match series. "There are always high stakes on every game that you play. And moving into this series against Bangladesh, they'll be heightened in their spirits, looking at the way they've played in recent times. It's actually exciting, you know? You want to be up against the best opposition that you can be. And I think they'd want to come here and prove a point, and I'm really looking forward to this battle. I think it will show how healthy cricket is," he added. Bangladesh currently sit fifth in the WTC standings and head into the series on the back of a 1-0 defeat against the West Indies. However, they had earlier impressed with a hard-fought draw in their two-match Test series in Australia, a performance that has not gone unnoticed in the South African camp. For the reigning WTC champions, the upcoming series presents an opportunity to maintain their momentum and strengthen their position among the top two teams in the standings as they push for another appearance in the WTC Final. "I think it's human nature, we've found ourselves on that side before where we probably got a bit too complacent," he said. "It's something that we have to guard against, to really give it our best shot and not drop the intensity, to keep our standards right up there. We're not really thinking about the result, we're just going to think about how we want to play, because that's what we've been doing these past two years, having that desperation to win. And yeah, getting into the faces of our opponents, that's exactly how we want to play. We'll be looking to do more of the same," he added. The first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh will kick off in Johannesburg on Sunday, November 15. South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, Matthew Breetzke, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton. (ANI)
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