Southampton: South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said his struggling side could still reach the World Cup semi-finals, even after talisman paceman Dale Steyn was ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury.
Du Plessis said despite their injury problems and their poor start to the tournament, South Africa were aiming to reach the last four of the round-robin event, in which all 10 teams play each other.
“Six games is the target, and there’s seven games left,” the skipper said.
“It would be great if we could start that tomorrow. There’s no easy games any more in the World Cup.... Whether it’s winning or losing, the main thing is getting to the semi-finals.”
Du Plessis said he it was important to stay “strong and positive” despite the challenge of working with limited resources.
“Naturally, guys will have a little bit of confidence that’s been chucked away and that is normal, that is part of being human,” he said.
Hendricks will arrive on Wednesday but will not be available to face India.
Du Plessis said he hoped Steyn’s international career was not at an end.
“It’s been a tough two-and-half years for him, and he would need support right now,” he said. “The team and management will put things in place to look after him. He needs love at the moment, he tried really hard to get fit for this campaign.”
