T20 WC | World Cups are special occasions when you play against the best: Netherlands’ Roelof van der Merwe

At 41, Roelof van der Merwe is showing no signs of stopping. The veteran Netherlands all-rounder may not have age on his side heading into the T20 World Cup, but that has not stopped him from brimming with excitement like a kid in a candy store.

“I get asked this question a lot these days (about his age). I love competing; obviously, World Cups are special occasions when you play against the best. I love competing at the highest level, and that is probably my biggest motivation to keep going,” van der Merwe told The Hindu after a Dutch training session at the Super Kings Academy here.

With fuel still left in the tank of what has been an ever-running vehicle, van der Merwe, with assistance from his teammates, is determined to pin down some heavyweights. For the first round of the marquee tournament, the Netherlands has been pitted with co-host India, Pakistan, the USA and Namibia in Group A.

“The India and Pakistan matches will be the standout ones for us; we have to stay on top of our game to beat them.

“Our primary objective is to get to the next stage (Super Eight). We have beaten big teams and won games at World Cups but we want to get on a roll and compete in the knockout stage,” added the former South Africa international.

To leave an imprint on the T20 World Cup, the Netherlands is banking on past experience, especially the 2023 ODI World Cup, and local knowledge gained via pre-event camps in Mumbai and Chennai.

“A lot of us have played in these conditions, but in a different format (ODI). We know what to expect in terms of how teams might approach us. We will take a lot of confidence from the 50-over World Cup (the Netherlands defeated South Africa and Bangladesh in the league stage),” said van der Merwe.

“During the camps, we got to play on different kinds of soil. Getting familiarised with these conditions in both the batting and bowling side of things is very important,” he added.

It is now up to the ‘orange army’ to walk the talk of winning battles.