I don’t know why you want to wait after the toss until you pick your XI: Pretoria Capitals' Theunis de Bruyn on the new rule in the SA20

Theunis de Bruyn, who is plying his trade for the Pretoria Capitals in the inaugural SA20, doesn't believe that the privilege of tweaking the playing XI based on the outcome of the toss has been applied yet by any of the teams.

For the uninitiated, SA20 introduced a rule prior to the start of the tournament, where teams could name 13 players before the toss. The final playing XI can then be announced based on whether the team would bat or bowl first.

In a media interaction, De Bruyn suggested that the Capitals haven't used that rule yet in the SA20 season and doesn't understand why a team would want to wait until the toss is done to announce the XI. He reckons that teams should always enter a game with a set of 12 or 13 players in mind before pruning it down based on the conditions on offer.

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Answering a Sportskeeda query on this new SA20 rule, he said:

"It’s a difficult one. I don’t know why you want to wait after the toss to you pick your XI. I guess every game you get there with 12 or 13 players that you want to see the conditions and play accordingly. So we haven’t used that rule yet."

Diving into it further when asked if this could become a feature in international cricket, De Bruyn said:

"I think where it could be valuable (is) if you are not valuable of local conditions or the conditions you play in. Let’s say for example a team from overseas comes and plays in South Africa, obviously the South African team would know the conditions better and if they randomly, at the Wanderers, pick more spinners, you could possibly change your team.

"I think in this competition there is enough local information to understand conditions, so to change it after the toss won’t really happen. But maybe in the future with international cricket and people not understanding the conditions as well, it could be beneficial. But I don’t think anybody in this league has actually had an XI at the toss and then after the toss decided to be going with a different XI."

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"That's not controllable of mine" - Theunis de Bruyn on his chances of representing South Africa in the ODI World Cup

De Bruyn has been in good touch in SA20 for the Pretoria Capitals, having scored 189 runs in seven games at an average of 31.50 and a strike rate of 127.70. He also boasts a solid 50-over record, with a List-A average and strike rate of 44.35 and 92.77, respectively.

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However, the 30-year-old batter is yet to make his ODI debut, despite having represented South Africa in the other two formats. When asked by Sportskeeda as to whether playing against some of the world's best players in SA20 could catalyze his desire of playing the World Cup in India later this year, he said:

"I cannot answer for you what Cricket South Africa thinks. I’ve always felt that the 50-over format is probably my strongest format and that’s the one format that I haven’t got an opportunity in. But that aside, that’s not a controllable of mine. And in saying that I’ve really felt a part of this team, the Pretoria Capitals and the professionalism throughout the team environment has really been enjoyable…You play in front of big crowds against some of the bowling attacks who could be a World XI bowling attack."

De Bruyn continued and stated his desire to contribute towards making the Pretoria Capitals a strong team and brand in SA20:

"You go out and succeed, obviously it gives you confidence. But I think that’s not the reason why you necessarily do well. It’s when you feel a part of something special and you want to play for your teammates and do well and win. So that’s more me, playing for my team and wanting to win badly. Regarding South African cricket and where they are heading towards I would not know. But I really want to contribute in making this team a strong team and a good brand."

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Do you think teams should be allowed to announce their playing XI after the toss in international cricket as well? Have your say on this in the comments section below!

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