T20 World Cup: Tabraiz Shamsi reveals talk with Dale Steyn after qualifying for final

South Africa have qualified for the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 by defeating Afghanistan in the first semi-final of the event.

The final on June 29 in Barbados will be the first time South Africa plays a World Cup final. They have lost seven World Cup semi-finals with their latest being the semi-final of the 2023 Cricket World Cup which they lost to Australia.

The prospect of playing a World Cup final is an emotional one for South Africans as well as their former cricketers.

Former South African pacer Dale Steyn took to his X account (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote “It’s emotional down here. We’re into a final.” Steyn was also present on the ground as he is part of the commentary panel for the T20 World Cup 2024 and talked with Tabraiz Shamsi.

Shamsi later revealed what the two talked about, "I actually did speak to him after the game. He gave me a massive hug and said the exact same thing that, like I said to you, this is not just for us, it's for the people back home and the players that have played before us. They have laid the foundation for the team to progress and it's just our duty to take it one step forward.”

The sentiment was shared by South Africa’s skipper Aiden Markram who appreciated the former Proteas players for inspiring the current team to play cricket for the country.

"They were guys that are legends of the game, legends of South African cricket. In my eyes, it doesn't matter if they made a final or not, because they inspired all of us to play cricket for South Africa. Because of them, we're trying to represent those people that have played before us, so we're glad we've made them proud, (and) to an extent I still feel we've got one more step left,” Markram stated in the post-match press conference after defeating Afghanistan in the semi-final.

Shamsi also stated that the team took one game at a time and did not focus on the next game ahead of them.

"There's no such thing, as you would've seen throughout the whole campaign from this team. We haven't even worried about the second fixture that was ahead of us. It was just about the next game and the next and the next. So now we've got to the final, we can sit down, see who we are going to be facing and then do our preparation as we have done for every single team,” Shamsi stated as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.

South Africa have remained unbeaten in the ongoing T20 World Cup although they came close to losing against the USA and England in the Super 8, the team managed to clinch the victory in both games.

South Africa will face either India or England since they are playing the second semi-final.

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