Proteas to return home on Wednesday

July 1, 2024 495

The Proteas will be returning to South Africa on Wednesday, landing at around 10h15 after they finished second at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

South Africa lost the final to India on Saturday by 7 runs at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Several of the Proteas players are expected to not be at the OR Tambo International Airport when the team arrives as they will travel straight to the USA to take part in the Major League Cricket competition.

A fan meet and greet will also take place at DP World Wanderers Stadium between 15h00 – 16h00 on the day of the team’s arrival on home soil.

So near, yet so far for the Proteas 💔#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/ASkpTjeGnS

— ICC (@ICC) June 29, 2024

Proteas’ captain, Aiden Markram, says the defeat to India is gut-wrenching.

“That’s really what it is. Each player has been on a different individual journey to get to this first final,” he said after he was asked about the emotions in the team straight after losing in Barbados.

“Ultimately you become really tight as a group and you want good things to happen to this group because you know they’re great people and when you get really close like that, especially the nature of how the game went, obviously adds to the emotions and it’s one of those things. But yeah, we can channel it moving forward.”

Despite the loss, however, Markram says he is proud of the team for how they fought throughout the tournament and playing in the country’s first ever World Cup final.

“I think one thing that I will definitely say is how proud we are. Not just [in the final], the game itself, but the competition as a whole, the build-up to get here…. For the time being, it stings a bit, but it’s good for it to sting. It gives you that little bit of fire in the belly for next time that you’re here,” he says.