South Africa have reached the semifinals of T20 World Cup 2026, and the pressure will be on them to win their maiden white-ball trophy. As always there has been talk of the chokers tag, which hasn’t left South Africa for their history in ICC events. The head coach Shukri Conrad has addressed those talks ahead of their semifinal clash against New Zealand.
South Africa have been on an unbeaten run in the tournament, and will be hoping to erase the chokers tag that has haunted them for over two decades. Even in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup, they came close to winning the title but lost to India in the final by a narrow margin.
Speaking ahead of the semifinals, Shukri Conrad cheekily addressed the situation after he was asked if there will be pressure of the tag.
“There’s always pressure. I think it’s what you do with that pressure and how you shift the pressure. As for the C word, I think there’s another one for it, cupcakes. I thought we kind of enjoyed that. But no, there’s always pressure, and it’s really about embracing that pressure. And we don’t do things any differently,” said Conrad humorously.
Conrad’s cupcakes reference was a dig at the infamous TV advert put up by Indian broadcasters ahead of India’s clash against South Africa in the Super 8. In the advert, an Indian fan was seen mocking a South African fan for repeating history, reminding the T20 World Cup 2024 final defeat. The Proteas went on to win that match convincingly to send a strong message.
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South Africa began the tournament with a strong win over Canada but almost lost the next game against Afghanistan. They came out on top in that game after two Super Overs.
They haven’t looked back since, beating the sides like New Zealand, India, and West Indies. Having defeated these them in the tournament already, Aiden Markram’s men will have the confidence to beat them again. On paper, South Africa have a formidable side with resources to beat any of the teams and lift the trophy.
The first semifinal between South Africa and New Zealand is scheduled to take place in Kolkata on March 4.
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