Proteas T20I captain Quinton de Kock said he hopes that captaincy will affect him in a positive manner.
The 26-year-old was handed the captaincy for the T20I series against India and with that came the responsibility of marshalling a young inexperienced T20 squad.
The biggest worry about any top player taking over the captaincy is how it will affect their performances.
In the press conference ahead of the second T20I against India, De Kock seemed self-assured about his new venture.
“I’m not too concerned,” said De Kock. “It’s just a new stepping stone in my career it gives me an extra responsibility.
“We can see how it goes, it could affect me negatively or could affect me positively, I’m unsure at the moment. But hopefully, it’s positively so I can still do well for the team.”
After much hype, the first game rained out in Dharamsala. This leaves the Proteas with a must-win two games against the visitors, this time in Mohali.
“Obviously it’s a bit of a negative. We would’ve liked to have a chance at three T20Is against the India team leading into the World Cup and preparing for the World Cup,” said De Kock.
“Obviously to lose out on a game in different conditions it’s not ideal, but it is what it is, we have to deal with it. Obviously now it’s a two-match series I guess, so it’s going to be an interesting format now that we only have two games and whether we win or not. So we will see how things go.”
With regards to the young players in the side, De Kock has refrained from putting pressure on them to settle in.
“I don’t think I’m going to put a number on it. It is different for every person. For some it can be one game, some it can be 10, you can’t put a number on it.”
The Proteas play India in the second T20I at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali at 15:30 SAST on Wednesday.