All-rounder Prenelan Subrayen says the KZN Dolphins players are excited to start the 2024-25 domestic season with a new head coach – and familiar face – at the helm. KHUNULOGO MPOLOKENG reports.
The Dolphins will be led by their former bowling coach Quinton Friend, who was appointed earlier this month after Imraan Khan joined CSA as batting lead.
They will get their season underway on Sunday when they visit the EP Warriors in Gqeberha in their T20 Challenge opener.
“Having Quinny as the head coach is quite exciting,” said Subrayen, who will captain the Dolphins in the tournament. “He knows where our team has come from to where it is now.
“He also knows how to get the best out of each player, so it’s quite an exciting venture for him and we wish him all the best. We too are quite excited to work with him as our head coach.”
The Dolphins finished last season’s T20 competition as runners-up after going down to the Central Gauteng Lions in the final at the Wanderers, following a strong league phase run.
“Over and above that final, there were a few areas that we can improve on from that competition,” said Subrayen. “We’ll also take the momentum of getting to the final out of it – that’s a feather in the cap on its own. We went back to the drawing board, rectified a few things and we’re excited for the new season.”
In their semi-final last season, the Dolphins convincingly beat the Warriors by five wickets in Durban, and Subrayen acknowledged that they are confident going into their season opener this weekend.
“The Warriors are a pretty formidable team, so beating them in front of their home crowd really meant a lot to us.”
The 31-year-old admitted to not having specific personal objectives for this upcoming domestic season, but highlighted the importance of his side’s improvement from last season in all three competitions.
“The objective for any team would be silverware in the cabinet, and we’re going to work as hard as we can to try and achieve that. And [personally], for the T20 Challenge and for the season as a whole, it is just to do the best that I can for the Dolphins and the rest will take care of itself.”
