Proteas limited-overs coach Rob Walter hopes to bring Eric Simons on board.
Walter told Rapport newspaper that “we want to get him involved on the bowling side, but there is no finality yet and lots of water yet to pass under the bridge.”
Simons was Proteas head coach from 2002 to 2004, and has been involved in 14 of the last 16 IPL tournaments as a coach.
This year’s ODI World Cup will be staged in India from 5 October to 19 November.
“I was involved with him when he was head coach of the Delhi Daredevils, and it would be wise to tap into his kind of expertise of the conditions there,” said Walter.
Simons believes the Proteas have a good chance of winning the World Cup for the first time.
“Previously, South Africa may have been intimidated by the Indian conditions and the Proteas may have been technically and tactically naive. That is no longer the case,” he told Rapport. “Many of our players have gained knowledge of the Indian conditions through participation in the IPL.
“Take our batsmen’s skills against spinners there. Heinrich Klaasen provided one of the biggest highlights in the IPL this year [104 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad against the Royal Challengers Bangalore]. His play against the spinners was a revelation, how he was aggressive against them from the front and the back foot and looked for the boundary ropes in midfield and at right.
“Quinton de Kock is good against spin and so is Temba Bavuma. Aiden Markram has grown in stature against spinners. David Miller may be more dominant against seamers than spin but he is confident against the slow men.”
