ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Australian Batsman Usman Khawaja Not Taking South Africa Lightly

Melbourne, July 1: Australia batsman Usman Khawaja said that their upcoming opponent, South Africa, have some experienced players and their current situation does not mean that they are a bad team. "They're a decent side. When I look at them on paper, they've got some experienced players with the bat. Obviously you have (Kagiso) Rabada and Imran Tahir, some really good bowlers. It's just how it is sometimes in tournament play. You lose a couple and you don't get a roll at the right time. It doesn't mean you're a bad team, it's just how the cookie crumbles," Cricket.com.au quoted Khawaja as saying.

In the previous match against Sri Lanka, South Africa registered a massive nine-wicket victory with Hashim Amla and skipper Faf du Plessis both scoring their respective half century during the run chase of 204 runs. Khawaja praised both Amla and Du Plessis calling them 'class batsmen'. "They've got class batsmen in Amla and du Plessis batted wonderfully (against Sri Lanka). You can never take them too lightly, you can never take any international team too lightly ... if you do it bites you on the backside," he said. ICC World Cup 2019: Usman Khawaja Leaves Australian Selectors in Dilemma After Hitting Ton Against India.

Khawaja even used the examples of Bangladesh and Afghanistan saying that both the teams have changed a lot and are not as they used to be four years ago. "People talk about Bangladesh, I don't think they are the same Bangladesh they were four years ago, I think they are a really good side. And Afghanistan, they're definitely not the same Afghanistan side from four years ago," Khawaja said.Australia will compete against South Africa on July 6.

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