3 Reasons why South Africa Will and Won't Win the World Cup
The tale of tragedy for South Africa in the World Cup seems to be never-ending, with them finding endless ways to avoid reaching the final. Will the 2019 World Cup see South Africa finally break their International trophy drought or will it be more of the same for long-suffering South African fans?
South Africa sits as one of the teams most likely to win, after India and hosts England. However, as always, in international cricket dismiss South Africa's National Team at your own peril. There is certainly an undeniable level of class in the South African squad such as batsmen Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, and Quinton de Kock.
They also have a quality bowling group, led by the veteran Dale Steyn and backed up by Kagiso Rabada. The South African team also has quality spin bowlers in the likes of Imran Tahir and his protege Tabraiz Shamsi.
Overall, it wouldn't be a surprise to see South Africa once again reach the final four, with anything less than that a major disappointment. However, questions still remain over whether they can break their World Cup hoodoo. South Africa have never made it to the final of the World Cup despite reaching the knockout stages in 6 out of the 7 World Cups they have played in. The Proteas, of course, missed the first 4 World Cup events due to an ICC moratorium on South Africa playing International cricket.
Since their resumption, South Africa has continuously found new ways to be eliminated in the tournament, from the rain delays of 1992 to the last over heartbreak in 2015. Each tournament seems to bring South African fans with a renewed sense of hope in the team, only for their World Cup run to be agonizingly extinguished.
If you want to see 3 reasons why England or India may or may not win the World Cup you can click here and here respectively.
#3 Why they Won't - Injury Issues
While there is no doubting the strength of the South African squad, many of their top players are coming into the tournament under injury clouds. Kagiso Rabada has been hampered by a back injury which forced him to miss several games in the IPL season for the Dehli Capitals. Though he and the team have maintained that they expect him to be fully fit for the World Cup.
Similarly, veteran Paceman Dale Steyn has also been struggling with a shoulder injury. Though, like Rabada, the coaching staff remains confident that he will be back for the first game against England.
Meanwhile, Lungi Ngidi missed the entirety of the IPL season for Chennai Super Kings with a side strain, and the teams doctor Mohammad Moosajee wasn't able to confirm whether the third paceman for the Proteas would be fit for their first game of the World Cup against England.
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