Ahead of the third T20I against India in Dharamsala, South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad said that their T20 World Cup 2026 preparation focuses on managing players’ workload rather than roles.

Conrad also made it clear that the selectors and team management are ‘pretty clear’ about their lineup for the global showpiece.

The Proteas rested Tristan Stubbs, Keshav Maharaj, and Anrich Nortje during their 51-run victory over India in the second T20I as part of a rotation policy. For the series-levelling win in New Chandigarh, the visitors included Reeza Hendricks, Ottniel Baartman, and George Linde in their playing XI.

“It might look as if we’re slightly unsure, given the number of changes we make every match. But it’s certainly not changes for the sake of being changes. We have a pretty good idea of what our World Cup squad will be like."

“Again, it’s really just managing players. There are a few guys who have been here since the Test Series. And then we’ve also got SA20 after this. So, really just about managing players and then also giving everybody a good run. See what works here, what doesn’t work. But, we’re pretty clear in terms of what we want," Conrad told reporters on the eve of the third T20I, to be played on Sunday (December 14).

Conrad mentioned that the team’s confidence is high after the second T20I win. With dew expected to play a major role in the third T20I beginning at 7 PM, the coach said South Africa are mentally prepared for the challenge.

“Look, it’s always nice getting a win, and it does raise the confidence, especially after how the first match went."

“But again, I think sometimes you come to a ground where historically the scores are quite high, and you feel that you need to be pitching at a certain mark, and then you find yourself in a little bit of trouble.

“So again, we certainly don’t have any specific target in mind in terms of where we want to reach as a batting unit. But we’re pretty confident in our all-round game. We did a lot of work before the series, bowling with a slightly wet ball during the ODIs. The hard work’s been done," he explained.

Shukri Conrad signed off by clarifying T20I skipper Aiden Markram’s batting position. “I think Aiden’s pretty flexible. I think we know who the opening bat is, definitely. He’s a left-hander (Quinton de Kock)."

“Then obviously we’ll just see how we pair that up. Aiden’s done a great job. I think last year he had a wonderful IPL opening the batting. He’s also batted at No. 3 and 4 in previous World Cups. But I don’t think you’ll see him bat lower than No 3 if I were to give anything away."

(With inputs from Agencies)