Heinrich Klaasen, appointed captain of Tshwane Spartans by head coach Mark Boucher, expects the contingent of home-grown players to give his squad an advantage at the upcoming Mzansi Super League.
Klaasen, who turned out for Titans in the CSA's 4-Day Franchise Series in late October after returning from India, where he made his Test debut, joked, "I had a conversation with Boucher, he said I got fired from the previous job (as Titans captain), so I can get a chance here. I'm looking forward to this, especially with guys who have heaps of experience around the world.
"I'm quite a relaxed captain. I try to get everyone's point of view. Everyone has different ideas, so it's always been my way."
Klaasen captained Titans with some success, even winning the 4-Day title in 2017-18, but with South Africa using him in all three formats in recent times, Titans turned to Grant Thompson to lead them.
Last year, Klaasen played for Durban Heat, but playing for the Spartans means playing with many players who have intimate knowledge of SuperSport Park.
"There's a lot of old Titans players like Roelof van der Merwe and Morne Morkel," he pointed out. "The characters and quality of players we have is unbelievable. It's going to be good fun and hard cricket."
AB de Villiers is part of the set up, as are current Titans players Lungi Ngidi, Dean Elgar and Tony de Zorzi. "There are a few warm-up games, for us to find our feet, to get to know each other, it's a good and exciting season ahead," Klaasen said.
'Don't think AB needs that burden'
De Villiers was the captain of the team last year, but Boucher explained that the team was happy to have him in their midst as just a player.
"AB won't be captain, we've discussed that," Boucher was quoted as saying on the MSL website a day before announcing Klaasen as the team leader. "He's a fantastic player but he must go out there and play and perform like he's been performing in the last while.
"I don't think AB needs that burden, he's in that stage of his life where he must enjoy his cricket and that's probably when he plays his best."