South Africa captain Temba Bavuma expressed confidence in his team’s preparation and readiness for their ICC Champions Trophy opener against Afghanistan, scheduled to take place in Karachi on Friday.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Bavuma highlighted the challenges posed by Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack and emphasised the importance of adapting to the conditions in Karachi.

South Africa, who arrived in Pakistan more than a week ago, have had time to acclimatise to the conditions and played a warm-up game and a tri-nation series match ahead of the tournament.

Bavuma noted that the surfaces in Karachi have been batter-friendly, with teams consistently posting scores around 300 in recent matches. However, he emphasised the need for his bowling unit to remain disciplined and precise to counter the high-scoring trend.

“Our challenge as a bowling unit is to be one of the more disciplined and precise bowling units,” Bavuma said.

“From a batting point of view, scoreboard pressure is a big thing. Guys getting in, making sure they go big so we can challenge for those 330–350 type of scores.”

Afghanistan, making their debut in the Champions Trophy, are expected to pose a significant challenge, particularly with their spinners, who thrive in subcontinental conditions. Bavuma acknowledged Afghanistan’s competitiveness, recalling their recent victory over South Africa in Sharjah last year.

“They’re a highly competitive team with a lot of experience and international pedigree,” he said. “They won’t be short of confidence coming into this game.”

When asked about the pitch conditions for the match, Bavuma revealed that the surface appeared fresher than previous wickets, potentially offering more assistance to seam bowlers. However, he expects Karachi to remain a batting-friendly venue overall.

“From what I hear from the coach, it looks like a fresh wicket, not as dry as the others we’ve seen,” he said. “There might be a bit more assistance for the seamers, but Karachi is generally a good wicket for the batters.”

South Africa’s history in ICC tournaments has been a topic of discussion among fans and pundits, with the team often falling short in knockout stages. Bavuma, however, dismissed any notion of lingering baggage from past disappointments.

“There’s no real negativity or baggage among the guys,” he said. “We’re coming into this tournament with a lot of positivity and confidence in our ability to go far.”

The South African skipper emphasised the importance of treating every game as a knockout, given the truncated format of the Champions Trophy. “Our mindset is to make sure we pitch up and play our best game of cricket,” he said. “Hopefully, we’re playing five games and not three in this tournament. Most importantly, we need to win the moments that matter.”

South Africa will look to start their campaign on a strong note against Afghanistan, with Bavuma urging his team to bring their “A-game” to the table.

The match is scheduled to begin at 2pm local time on Friday, with both teams eager to make an early statement in the tournament.