Former India batter Wasim Jaffer is one of the few to score a Test century in South Africa and hence knows how difficult it is to accumulate runs in the rainbow nation. However, as the Indian team prepares for the upcoming three Tests and three ODIs series, things are a whole lot different.
The South African team no longer has the batting might it once used to have and their bowling suffered a huge blow as pacer Anrich Nortje was ruled out of the Test series due to a persistent hip injury.
However, Jaffer, who scored 185 runs in Tests at 30.83 on the 2006-07 tour, felt that the Proteas still has a decent bowling attack and rated Kagiso Rabada as one of the best fast bowlers in business now.
SA v IND 2021-22: CSA assures BCCI an immediate exit route in case of Omicron crisis in South Africa
Proteas still have seven pacers to choose from including Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Marco Jansen, Beuran Hendricks, Glenton Stuurman, and Sisanda Magala.
He said: “South Africa has a decent fast bowling attack, there is no doubt it (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. They have sufficient quality. Their pace bowling will definitely challenge India. But their batting is not the same it was before. Nonetheless, it will be a challenging tour for India."
Talking about the South African pacers, Jaffer further said: “I think they always look to pitch the ball hard. That’s how they bowl all the time. You did not find many, apart from Vernon Philander, swing the ball; in recent times of course. They hit the deck hard, just like the Australian fast bowlers. They have pace and they try to get maximum out of the pitch. They are trained to bowl like that in South Africa. It’s always challenging to bat, when the conditions are tough."
SA v IND 2021-22: South Africa captain Dean Elgar says team has gotten used to bad news around them
Wasim Jaffer is one of the nine Indian batters who have scored Test centuries in South Africa with Sachin Tendulkar scoring the most- five tons and Virat Kohli with two. Those who have scored one century in South Africa are Pravin Amre, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Jaffer, and Cheteshwar Pujara.
When talking about the Indian pace bowling contingent, Jaffer said that he was confident of their abilities, calling them an all-round attack.
“India’s bowlers will keep their team in the game. The 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,” Jaffer said.
SA v IND 2021-22: Kohli no stranger to pressure; he'd want to leave a mark in Test series- Cullinan
However, the former India opener pointed out that it is the Indian batters who needed to step up and score runs. He cited the example of 2018 series when only Virat Kohli got runs and India lost the 3-Test series 1-2.
He said: “The challenge is for the batters to put scores on the board. That’s been the problem. 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."
(News18 inputs)
