'It’s About Gelling as a Team And Playing Some Entertaining Cricket': Pretoria Capitals Assistant Coach Jacques Kallis

Ahead of the inaugural season of Cricket South Africa’s SA20, the Pretoria Capitals have assembled an impressive following their purchases at the Players Auction in Cape Town.

The Capitals, who are part of a six-team tournament that is slated to be played in January-February next year, have included the likes of Rilee Rossouw, Jimmy Neesham, Adil Rashid and local hero Theunis de Bruyn in their squad.

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They had already signed pace ace Anrich Nortje and Migael Pretorius and will have in the dugout the guidance of Graham Ford as their head coach who in turn will have Jacques Kallis and Dale Benkenstein as assistant coaches.

“The auction was quite an experience, it was fun but stressful. I think at the end of the day I think we’re pretty happy with how things happened. All in all, with the money we had, we’ve done pretty well," Ford said in a statement.

Ford is happy the franchise was able to land explosive batter Rossouw.

“Rilee Rossouw has been fantastic over the last couple of years, internationally and at the franchise level. Left hand batter who is highly explosive and dominant. It’s a huge local signing and something to get really excited about. And then there’s Theunis de Bruyn, who at the domestic level has been superb over a good period. They are two standout players," he said.

The legendary Kallis, currently in India playing in the legends league cricket, feels the team have their bases covered.

“We’ve got a nice balance of experience and youth, some exciting players. We have a well-balanced squad and most of our bases are covered. I am confident that we’ve got a good squad that take on all conditions that will be there in South Africa and be successful. A lot of hard work has gone into the squad from behind the scenes from the management and staff. The guys are really excited about the players we have got and they’re excited to start the season," he said.

Kallis’ focus will be on how well the players bond as teammates and playing entertaining cricket.

“When you work with a team for a month or so, it’s very difficult to make big changes and it’s more about giving us options and going through their roles, being very clear on that. For me it’s about gelling as a team and playing some good entertaining cricket that the crowds will enjoy and people will come and watch. And above all, have fun as teammates, and that’s when teams tend to do well, when the guys are having fun," he said.

The SA20 which kicks off next year, will see the Pretoria Capitals play their home games at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

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