T20 World Cup 2024: South Africa are chokers? Aakash Chopra drops 'C' word bombshell to mock the Proteas

Former India batter Aakash Chopra appeared to be mocking the South Africa team for their habit of choking in the important games of ICC tournaments.

South Africa, after reaching the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup last year, are gearing up for another shot at their maiden international silverware. They have an infamous habit of losing knockout matches of major tournaments which has been in effect since their inclusion back to international cricket.

Despite having generational talents and some world-class players, South Africa have nothing to show for in their trophy cabinet. This T20 World Cup is just another opportunity for them to end the drought but will they be able to do so? Their performance in the previous T20 WC editions suggests otherwise but their 50-over WC performance in 2023 will give their fans some hope.

What did Aakash Chopra say about South Africa?

While speaking in his latest YouTube video, Aakash Chopra discussed South Africa's chances at the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies. He started off by mocking the Proteas team by saying that he wouldn't use the 'C' word which denotes chokers, a nickname widely associated with them due to their inability to handle pressure situations.

Aakash Chopra highlighted that South Africa have reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup twice - 2007 and 2014 but they have never gone past that. Chopra then said that this is their situation at ICC events and admitted that they have a very good side this time around as well.

"The eternal South Africa - I won't use the 'C' (choke) word. Their story has been that they have been semi-finalists twice but have never won, and their situation is like that in ICC championships. They come close many times. When you see the team, it looks good, and the team is not looking bad this time as well," Aakash Chopra said via his YT video.

Aakash Chopra reminds South Africa of how many talented players they have

Aakash Chopra would then remind the South African team management as to how many talented players they have at their disposal. He mentioned the names of some pure power hitters like Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, and Ryan Rickelton.

"If we see their batting - Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs - I am talking about just the pure batters here. If we see the wicketkeepers - Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen and Ryan Rickelton," Chopra added.

Chopra claims South Africa can adopt SunRisers Hyderabad's style of play

Lastly, Aakash Chopra reminded South Africa of the bowlers they have in the team like Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, and Kagiso Rabada among others. Chopra then uttered "what a team" before stating that they could adopt SunRisers Hyderabad's style of play.

"Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi - what a team. Batting unit - this could be a team like Hyderabad," Aakash Chopra concluded.