The dawn of a new era of South African cricket

After the retirement of the long serving captain Graeme Smith the South African cricket is set to have a change in leadership with expectations that AB de Villiers to take the charge of team. With veteran Jacques Kallis and Smith hanging their boots in quick succession and the void left by Mark Boucher still not filled properly, the team is set for a complete restructuring of sorts. This state can be seen as a difficult scenario as well as a big opportunity. The amount of experience that these players had and the quality which they brought in the dressing room will surely be missed, but this is the right time for the new breed of young talented players to come to the forefront and shoe their mettle.
The opening spot is likely to be occupied by Quinton de Kock who has shown that he has the capability of making it big in international cricket by hitting 4 centuries in his career of 16 matches and pundits see him to be what Virat Kohli has become for India. His addition to all the three formats will also ease AB de Villiers of the responsibility of keeping wickets in tests. Jean Paul Duminy and Faf du Plessis have now become a regular appearance in the squad taking care of the middle order with AB. There has never been a doubt about the potential of these two batsmen in anyone’s mind but in past they haven’t performed to the levels of expectations. The stability of place which they have now may be a motivating factor for them to take more responsibility. David Miller is also one exiting prospect for the South African team and is seen to be the future stars for Proteas. His charismatic innings in the last edition of IPL might still be etched in the minds of many which showed his potential. Colin Ingram is another player who has kept knocking at the door for selection and this is the right time for him to show what he has to offer.  The trio of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel has been around for a long time and still have some time at their side.
But more than the players coming in and going out of the side the factor which will may change in the team would be the style of cricket which they play. These players whom we are talking about have shown that they have the belief in themselves to take their side home from the most difficult situations. Graeme Smith had been around for a very long time and it is possible that a new captain infuses a new spirit in the team and looking forward to the T20 and ODI World Cup the team will have the right inspiration to perform. Hopefully this transformation period makes them emerge as a team like Australia who have heralded a new aggressive brand of Cricket which would make international cricket more competitive and exiting.