Shukri Conrad happy with tour of India despite T20 series defeat

The defeat ended a miserable white-ball part of South Africa’s tour as they lost both the ODI and T20 series – a far cry from their dazzling performances in the Test series, which they won 2-0.  

Conrad says, although they would have loved to win in the shortest format of the game, they do appreciate that they were playing against the reigning world champions. 

"It's been a wonderful tour, obviously in the three formats – we started off brilliantly with the Test series and then we take it to a decider in the ODIs, and then we had an opportunity to level the T20 series but... A wonderful 6-7 weeks here," said Conrad.

"It's an incredible place to come and tour, you learn a lot about yourself, and obviously the game and conditions, so I think this last bit has been wonderful for us in terms of conditions that we're going to experience in a few months' time when we come for the World Cup.

"But all in all, I think a rather successful tour, I'm really happy with the outcomes. Obviously you want to win every series you play in, but they are the world champions in this format for a reason. 

"We've got to make sure we come back in a few months time to try and topple them."

READ: Proteas fall short in mammoth run-chase as India seal T20I series

The 2026 T20 World Cup will take place in India in February and March, and Conrad admitted they had the best preparation on the same pitches they will be revisiting next year. 

"Ja, very helpful, especially [because] we've got a few games here in Ahmedabad – I think conditions will be obviously different, we certainly won't have as much fog around, I don't think," he added.

"And I don't think the dew will play such a huge role, but it certainly does give us some really good insights into what we can expect, familiarise ourselves with the conditions, so I think it's been really useful in terms of prep for the World Cup."