Finding form is just a question of time as long as one remains confident about their abilities, said South Africa batter Rilee Rossouw after scoring an outstanding hundred against India while the IPL auction is round the corner but Rossouw said it was the last thing on his mind.
Finding form is just a question of time as long as one remains confident about their abilities, said South Africa batter Rilee Rossouw after scoring an outstanding hundred against India following two zeroes in the first two T20s.
Having made his international debut back in 2014, Rossouw has been in and out of the South African team, featuring in 36 ODIs and 21 T20s. However, he has made a name for himself in franchise cricket having played all around the world.
The IPL auction is round the corner but Rossouw said it was the last thing on his mind as he simply hoped to get a run on the board.
“As a professional sportsman, you are going to have bad times. It is just about backing yourself and having confidence in your ability no matter what type of form you are in. Had a chat with our assistant coach. Confidence plays a big part in scoring runs,”
Rossouw said at the post-match press conference.
“I believe in my ability, I have shown it throughout the world. It is never a confidence issue for me, it is just formed,”
he added. Rossouw last played in the IPL in 2015.
“The auction is not in my control. It was not even on my mind. I was just trying to get one run tonight first. It panned out pretty well for me,”
said the left-hander on a lighter note.
“The one shot that he swept across and hit it for six…it felt like tonight it was going to be something special. Great to see him in such fine form right before the T20 world cup.”
A full-strength South Africa next plays three ODIs against a second-string India.
Asked about the learnings from the three T20s in India, Rossouw said:
“In the first game, we were kind of shell shocked about how India swung the ball. We went back to the drawing board and thought about how we are going to approach the next two games.
“In the second game, we learned more, and tonight we were able to put up a performance together with both bat and ball.”
He also said the team has a blueprint ready on how to play in drastically different conditions in the World Cup in Australia but did not reveal much on the subject.
Captain Temba Bavuma is in the middle of a lean run and strain is mounting on him with every disappointment. Rossouw said the group is completely behind its skipper.
“I don’t think it affects the team. We spoke about it. If someone is going to have a good day, they can carry weight off someone who is not in great form. It takes one knock and Temba can in the form of his life going into the world cup.
“We need to be there for him as a team. Every professional goes through this and it is about backing him, his ability. His captaincy has been really good,”
he added.