The Proteas’ Fun Arrival in Thiruvananthapuram for ICC World Cup 2023

The South African cricket team has landed in India for the highly anticipated ICC World Cup 2023 and has chosen Thiruvananthapuram as their base. The Proteas have commenced their training sessions in the picturesque capital city of Kerala and are gearing up for a warm-up match against New Zealand scheduled for Monday.

Before getting down to serious cricket business, the South African players had a lighthearted moment when they were challenged to pronounce the rather complex name of their current location, ‘Thiruvananthapuram.’ Surprisingly, many of the players found it to be quite a tongue twister. However, a few of them, including Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, and Lungi Ngidi, managed to pronounce it correctly.

After several amusing failed attempts, Heinrich Klassen suggested using the older name ‘Trivandrum’ as a simpler alternative to the city’s name. The video of this amusing episode was shared by renowned Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, who also represents Thiruvananthapuram in the Parliament.

Congress leader Tharoor took to his microblogging account to humorously comment on the situation, saying, “The South Africans have arrived in Thiruvananthapuram! But can they tell anyone where they are?” accompanied by the video of the players struggling with the city’s name.

Earlier, the warm-up match between South Africa and Afghanistan, scheduled to be held in Thiruvananthapuram, was washed out due to heavy rain. This disappointment affected both teams’ preparations as they now have only one remaining warm-up match to fine-tune their strategies before the tournament officially begins next week.

Meanwhile, South African cricketer Temba Bavuma had to temporarily return home for family reasons. The team is hoping for better weather conditions in Thiruvananthapuram before their final warm-up match against New Zealand, set to take place on Monday. Bavuma is expected to rejoin the squad in time for South Africa’s opening match of the tournament, which is scheduled against Sri Lanka in Delhi on October 7.

On the other hand, Afghanistan is also preparing for the tournament with a final warm-up match against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday. They will kick off their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign against Bangladesh in Dharamshala, also on October 7.