JP Duminy says that Bangladesh poses a bigger threat in T20s compared to the other two formats. 

The 33-year-old comes in as captain in the place of the injured Faf du Plessis, after last captaining the side in a 2-1 series defeat to Australia in 2014. Duminy says although Bangladesh have struggled to match up to the Proteas in all of the matches on the tour so far, they will have a stronger case come the T20Is.

‘The shorter the format the closer teams come together,’ Duminy said to the media on Wednesday. ‘Bangladesh are a formidable T20 team, we expect a fierce competition in these two matches. The goal for us, as it would have been in the Test and the ODI series, is to win the series 2-0, that will be our main focus.’

On assessing the Bangladeshis’ frame of mind after a series of heavy defeats, he added: ‘There are two ways to look at it. It can be a dangerous thing because they have nothing to lose. Or they could have one foot on the plane ready to go home. The first game will determine that. The main focus for us as a team is on what we want to get out of this series.’

Dolphins all-rounder Robbie Frylinck is the only debutant in the squad, which features a host of players looking to break through in the limited-overs format.

‘It’s a great opportunity for him if he gets the go-ahead,’ Duminy said of Frylinck. ‘It doesn’t matter at what age you come in, he has come in with a lot of experience and has played many games for his franchise. The experience is there, the key for him is to execute those skills under this type of pressure.

‘This is the platform where we all get tested,’ he added. ‘This is the highest platform where players want to play, if you can test your skills here and come out on top, this is the place where you want to play.’

The first T20 takes place at the Mangaung Oval, which will introduce the newly installed LED lights on Thursday evening for the first time.

Photo: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images