South Africa T20 World Cup 2016 profile: AB de Villiers and company will look to overcome chokers tag

Coach: Russell Domingo

ICC World Ranking: 3

Squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangsio, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David Wiese.

Fixtures

Match 1: England vs South Africa, Group 1

Date and Time: 18 March, Friday – 2pm GMT/7.30pm IST

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Match 2: South Africa vs TBC (Qualifier 1B), Group 1

Date and Time: 20 March, Friday – 9.30am GMT/3pm IST

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Match 3: South Africa vs West Indies (Qualifier 1B), Group 1

Date and Time: 25 March, Friday – 2pm GMT/7.30pm IST

Venue: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur

Match 4: South Africa vs Sri Lanka (Qualifier 1B), Group 1

Date and Time: 28 March, Monday – 2pm GMT/7.30pm IST

Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Overview: The most in-form team going into the tournament, South Africa have a thing or two to prove to their critics who have labeled them with the "chokers" tag. The Proteas have never won the T20 World Cup and this looks like their best chance, considering the players they have at their disposal.

A line-up consisting of AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir and skipper Faf du Plessis should be winning more global tournaments but what hurts them in major tournaments is the tendency to self-destruct at important moments. Take the semi-final against New Zealand at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 for example, they had the Kiwis on the mat but somehow conspired to lose that tie.

If South Africa can overcome their nerves that seem to haunt them in high pressure situations, then there is no reason why the ICC World T20 2016 will not see a new winner in the Proteas.

Key player

AB de Villiers: The key player for any team that he plays in, AB de Villiers is the most complete batsman in world cricket. Able to play any shot at will, the right-hander is destructive at any stage of the game.

The 32-year-old has a modest record in the T20 World Cup tournaments, scoring 607 runs in 26 games with a strike rate of 138.26. With de Villiers opening the batting for the Proteas in the 2016 edition, the Indian fans at the stadium are in for a treat.

World Cup history: South Africa are yet to win the T20 World Cup since its inception in 2007, with their best performance coming in 2009 where they finished in the third place.

Prediction: The Proteas have been drawn in Group 1 along with England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and winner of the Group B qualifier. In what is a tough group, how they tackle the Indian conditions will determine their progress. We predict them to progress ahead of West Indies and England.