The Proteas are confident heading into the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup that starts on Thursday in India.

The Proteas snuck into the World Cup earlier in the year after nearly failing to secure automatic qualification, but since then a lot has changed in the camp.

The Proteas have recently regained their winning culture in the squad and they did manage to beat a strong Australian team 3-2 in the One-Day International series at home. They also managed to be the reigning champions, England, 2-1 during the three ODI’s played in Bloemfontein and Kimberley.

The Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma, said they are ready and quietly confident.

“Yeah, I think the boys are, well we are quite excited for the challenge for the next coming weeks,” said Bavuma who earlier linked up with the team again following a family emergency back in South Africa.

“The guys obviously enjoy coming to India and experiencing everything about the cricket, as well as the culture.

“I think as a team, there's a quiet confidence about the guys who've been playing some good cricket. And we've kind of enjoyed going out and trying to express ourselves.

“So, I guess there will be an opportunity for us to do that over the coming weeks and that's exactly what we'll be looking forward to.

Several of the Proteas cricketers play a lot of cricket in India, especially in the IPL and this will be a bit of an advantage for South Africa. However, Bavuma downplayed the advantage but said the experience of the conditions will certainly be handy.

“Yeah, I think that's something that's relevant to all the teams. A lot of the teams have guys who play in India, who've done well in India.

“So, I wouldn't really say it's an advantage for us. I think all we can do is the guys who have that experience and knowledge, they can share it amongst the team or use it in terms of, you know, our strategies, our plans. But I wouldn't really say it's an advantage unique to us as a team.”

On Saturday at 10:30 the Proteas will open their campaign against Sri Lanka in Delhi.