South African Cricketers Struggle to Pronounce Thiruvananthapuram, Video Goes Viral
South Africa’s cricket team has faced an amusing challenge during their training sessions in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023. The players found themselves struggling to pronounce the name of the city correctly, leading to a video of their attempts going viral on social media.
The video, posted by Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, captured the South African cricketers trying their best to pronounce Thiruvananthapuram, but instead, they ended up uttering unusual words. However, some players like Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, and Lungi Ngidi successfully managed to pronounce the name correctly.
One player who particularly struggled was Heinrich Klaasen, who repeatedly mispronounced the name. Eventually, he discovered the older name of the city, which is Trivandrum, and succeeded in saying it correctly. Tharoor shared the video on his official X account, humorously captioning it with, The South Africans have arrived in Thiruvananthapuram! But can they tell anyone where they are?
The South African team’s warm-up match against Afghanistan in Thiruvananthapuram was unfortunately washed out due to incessant rains. Both teams were eagerly awaiting the match to prepare themselves for the upcoming World Cup.
In other news, South African skipper Temba Bavuma had to fly back to his home country due to personal reasons. However, he is expected to rejoin the team for their tournament opener against Sri Lanka in Delhi on October 7.
The Proteas will face New Zealand in their second warm-up match on Monday, hoping for improved weather conditions. Meanwhile, Afghanistan will play their last warm-up match against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday, followed by their tournament opener against Bangladesh in Dharamshala on October 7.
While the South African cricketers may have struggled with the pronunciation of Thiruvananthapuram, their presence in India has certainly created a buzz. Fans and fellow players have shown support and humorously embraced their attempts to master the unique name. As their journey in the ODI World Cup 2023 begins, all eyes will be on the Proteas’ performance on the field.
