Team India will be playing three Tests and as many ODIs during the South African tour with the first red-ball fixture on December 26. Virat Kohli will lead the Test squad, while Rohit Sharma will be expected to be the captain for the ODI series. India will be looking forward to winning their maiden Test series win in South Africa. Meanwhile, former India Test opener Wasim Jaffer reckoned that the South Africa pace bowling attack can trouble the Indian batters.
During a recent chat with News18, Wasim Jaffer said, “South Africa has a decent fast bowling attack, there is no doubt (on Tuesday, CSA said that fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the series because of a recurring hit-related injury). Rabada is one of the best. He is going to challenge the Indian batters.”
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He further added, “They have sufficient quality. Their pace bowling will definitely challenge India. But their batting is not the same like it was before. Nonetheless, it will be a challenging tour for India.”
India pace bowlers have been playing a crucial role in their overseas success over the recent years. Wasim opined that the experience of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami will always keep India in the game. He also added that the Indan batters will need to score 400-plus runs in order to win games.
Wasim Jaffer explained, “India’s bowlers will keep their team in the game. Indian fast bowling is very experienced now. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have a lot of experience. India has an all-round attack. I have been saying that if India scores 400 plus, it is more likely that it will win matches. Our bowling attack is first class. The challenge is for the batters to put scores on the board. That’s been the problem.”
The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli ended the 2018 series as the highest run-scorer as he had amassed 286 runs in 3 Tests. Wasim Jaffer stated that the Indian batters should bat around their skipper to set it up for the bowlers.
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Talking about the same, Jaffer said, “In 2018, Virat was the only one who got the runs. The other batters need to step up. Now, India’s batting is more balanced in the top six. Rishabh (Pant) can change the game if he bats for one or one and a half hours. There are good players in the team; they have to contribute around Virat.”
