CWC 2023: South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma asserts that Netherlands will not be taken "lightly"

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 16 (ANI): South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma assured that the Proteas won't take the Netherlands lightly as they gear up for their World Cup encounter.
South Africa will face the Netherlands at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Tuesday. The Dutch side defeated the likes of the West Indies and Ireland in the World Cup Qualifiers to seal their place in the star-studded tournament. They have played a good brand of cricket against tough opposition like Pakistan, however, they are yet to register a single victory in the ongoing World Cup.
"We definitely won't be taking them lightly. There was a T20 World Cup last year, so 50 over World Cup now, different format, different ask in terms of your skills, being able to do your skills for a longer period of time. So, I think that's something that I think we all need to appreciate," Bavuma said in the pre-match press conference.
"Like I said, we played them in South Africa and I think our victories there were emphatic in my view. So, I think in terms of the confidence and belief within the team without us being arrogant or loud about it I think it's still up there. We still respect opposition, not just Netherlands, but any opposition that you come up with against an international level. But we'll be coming up, we'll be coming into the game with the same mindset that we had against Sri Lanka and that we had against Australia," Bavuma added.
South Africa are yet to taste defeat in the ongoing World Cup, the Proteas will back themselves to do well against the Netherlands on the back of massive victories they recorded earlier this year.
But Bavuma has assured that they will give their opposition the respect that they deserve and make sure that they are not complacent and end up taking the game for granted.
"Not at all. I think we'll give them the respect that they deserve, Netherlands. We know that their side will prepare with proper attention to detail and they'll cover their bases. So, we've got to make sure that we do the same thing, we make sure that we pitch up, there's no expectation that things are just going to happen our way," Bavuma said.
"But most importantly, we just keep backing what we are doing. So, there's no complacency or taking the game for granted. The last time we played in the Netherlands was back home in South Africa in that series. We obviously needed those points to qualify for the World Cup and I think there, the performances that we showed were critical. So tomorrow, we'll be looking to do more of the same," Bavuma added.
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c), Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams. (ANI)