Tabraiz Shamsi and Kagiso Rabada

• Proteas spinner Tabraiz Shamsi reckons fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will do a “great job” as captain.
• Rabada will captain Shamsi and the Kingfishers in the inaugural Solidarity Cup, which is expected to take place on 18 July.
• Shamsi revealed that he has kept up with his fitness and is eager to get back on the field.

Proteas spinner Tabraiz Shamsi believes fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will do a great job as captain for the upcoming Solidarity Cup.

Rabada will lead the Kingfishers in the inaugural tournament, which sees three teams of eight players each playing one match of two halves to determine a winner.

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“I think we’re all leaders in our own way. KG has led the bowling attack for a number of years,” Shamsi told Sport24 in a Zoom interview on Tuesday.

“Leadership is a tag and he is somebody that thinks about the game, he doesn’t just play, there’s a lot of thought gone into everything he does. So I’m sure he is going to do a great job.”

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The Solidarity Cup is Cricket South Africa’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and introduces a complex but exciting ‘3TC’ format.

“It’s quite exciting. We haven’t played and trained for a long time so it’s going to be nice to play some cricket,” said Shamsi.

The Proteas left-arm wrist spinner has not played cricket since March but insists that he has kept his fitness up and is eager to get back on the field.

“I need to make sure I perform. I just need to make sure I’m ready for whenever we play cricket again. It might be a long time with all the fixtures being cancelled,” he said.

“I just want to make sure I contribute, that’s my motivation. I’m just training and making sure I am back to where I was in terms of the bowling game before this crisis happened.”

South African cricket fans can buy a virtual ticket of R30 and have their image on the scoreboard at SuperSport Park and enlist as a ‘Citizen Of Solidarity’.

All proceeds of The Solidarity Cup will go towards helping those in the cricket community who have suffered due to Covid-19.