Bedingham will play his first Test in front of home crown in Cape Town.
He said that he idolized local hero Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs when he grew up before he found Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's techniques fascinating as a teenager.
The 29-year-old stated that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are his favorite cricketers and that he tried to copy their techniques at one point in his career.
"My two favorites among Indian players are Sharma and Kohli. I think when I was between 13-18, I was trying to mould my technique like theirs (Kallis and Gibbs) and when I had a bad game, I changed my technique to copy Kohli’s or try probably Sharma’s,” Bedingham told PTI.
In 2016, Bedingham was involved in a serious car crash that threatened to derail his promising journey, sidelining him for close to a year. After recovering from the physical and emotional toil, Bedingham made his comeback and became a mainstay for Western Province and also for Durham.
Bedingham recalled his chat with England’s Ben Stokes, during his time at Durham, saying they helped him get a taste of a champion's mindset.
"I think we talked a lot. I think he refrained from talking about cricket a lot. He spoke about dealing with pressures, speaking to a world-class player like him did help handle the pressure better during the first Test,” Bedingham said.
The second Test between South Africa and India will be played at Cape Town which is Bedingham’s home town and he is chuffed to wear the national cap in front of his family and well-wishers, saying there has been a lot of demand for tickets.
(PTI inputs)