South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius felt like an "outsider" after being stuck on the sidelines but success against Sri Lanka has fuelled his hopes of becoming the "most consistent bowler" in international cricket and make it to next year's T20 World Cup.
Playing only his second game in the World Cup, Pretorius (3/25) returned with a three-wicket haul to set up South Africa's nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka, only their second victory in the tournament.
"There is a T20 World Cup coming, I desperately want to play in that and hopefully this one in four years time in 2023," he said after his exploits earned him the Man-of-the-Match on Friday.
"I want to keep myself strong and work on my skills to carve out a niche for myself as the most consistent bowler and hopefully contribute with the bat as well."
"It is a tough situation but the players and the group look after us nicely. We were never made to feel like outsiders, even though in your mind you do feel like an outsider because you are not getting opportunities to play."