South Africa's fairly short but full home international summer starts this week with a four-match T20I series against India, which has at least two strong but incorrect narratives around it.
The first is the most obvious: that this is a rematch of the World Cup final, and South Africa have the opportunity to exact revenge. Yawn. A bilateral series with a slightly different squad will never have the same significance as a World Cup final, so before you even start entertaining thoughts of that, stop. What happened in June, happened and India are world champions. That means South Africa know the magnitude of their task.
The second is that this will provide preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which is 15 months away. As South Africa themselves proved after being blanked 3-0 by West Indies either side of this year's World Cup, form doesn't count for that much at a big tournament. It's more about momentum and luck. So scratch that too and simply enjoy this for what it is: cricket for cricket's sake and, at best, a chance to deepen talent pools.
These are some of the things South Africa will be looking for in the series.
The return of middle-order muscle
Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller are both playing their first internationals since the T20 World Cup and will bring much-needed stability to South Africa's line-up. In their absence, across five T20Is, South Africa found themselves on scores like 42 for 5 against West Indies and lost 9 for 61 against Ireland. They also did not manage to find a consistent big hitter at Nos.5 or 6. They did, however, see an uptick in performance from Tristan Stubbs, who scored his second half-century in the format, and first since the first time he batted in a T20I game in 2022. Now imagine all three of them in form. With a middle order of Stubbs, Klaasen and Miller, the big hits may be even bigger.
What did Jansen and Coetzee gain from their conditioning break?
The series will mark the international comebacks of the first two players to be put on extended leave by Cricket South Africa (CSA), which has recognised the need for players to work on their conditioning without match-day pressures. Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee had shoulder and hip problems to fix but also spent time on their fitness, and the results, according to captain Aiden Markram, could be dangerous for opposition batters.
"It's been exciting to see lots of energy, pace on the ball, and they are hitting the bat really hard, if I'm speaking from a batter that's facing them point of view," Markram said. "They just look really excited to get back on the park and I'm sure they'll bring lots of energy and excitement."
Mihlali Mpongwana and/or Andile Simelane to debut - but are the only ones not auditioning
The two uncapped allrounders in the squad have been around the national team over the last few months and may get a game, but ironically, they're not the ones with a side-point to prove. That's every other member of the South Africa squad, who, apart from Klaasen who was retained from Sunrisers Hyderabad, will be at the IPL auction.
The fact that they are playing against the IPL host country means South Africa's players have the perfect opportunity to put their names up in lights and catch the franchise owners' eyes, and they know it. "We're fortunate that we're playing a series against them pretty much just before the auction happens," Markram said. "That would be the bonus of doing well, firstly, collectively and then for the individuals that put their hands up. I don't think it's your motivation to do well. I think it's the bonus that potentially could follow."
Nqaba Peter and the spin succession plan
In what has been a breakthrough year for legspinner Nqaba Peter, he now has the opportunity to establish himself as a regular in the national T20I side. Peter has been preferred over left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin and wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi for this series, which provides some indication of CSA's future planning, especially for a World Cup in the subcontinent. Shamsi opted out of a national contract last month but remains available for selection and white-ball coach Rob Walter explained his absence as part of a plan to see what other, lesser known players can offer. "Giving Nqaba Peter an opportunity to play was a priority," Walter said.
Expect to see Markram turning his own arm over as well as South Africa seek out as many bowling options as possible.
Millions in broadcast fees
And now to the main reason for this series taking place: CSA's bank balance. Without being too crude about it, it cannot be ignored that the fees from hosting India are significant and believed to be around R150 million (USD 8.5 million) for a T20I match. That's a much higher amount than the profits from CSA's shareholding of the SA20, which is the next biggest money-maker and brought in R54 million last year (USD 3.02 million). In an otherwise loss-making season - South Africa host Sri Lanka and Pakistan, both of whom do not command massive revenues - should ensure CSA have a third successive profitable year.
The benefits down the chain are also apparent. Johannesburg's Wanderers Stadium, which does not host a Test for the second summer in succession, has one of the four fixtures. The other three are in Durban, Gqeberha and Centurion, and big crowds are expected at all four venues. While this doesn't spread the game to some of the country's other stadia, it ensures four of the big five (Newlands doesn't get a game this time), have the highest-profile games.