Former English spinner Monty Panesar while talking about the upcoming Test series between South Africa and India said that Virat Kohli will be under pressure to perform with the bat.
The first match between the teams will be played on the 26th at SuperSport Park, Centurion. The second Test between South Africa and India will be played at Johannesburg from January 3 to 7 followed by the final Test, which will take place in Cape Town from January 11 to 15.
Team India is putting hard yards in the nets and is leaving no stone unturned to prepare themselves for the first Test match. The three-match Test series will hold extreme importance for the Virat Kohli-led side as South Africa is the only country where India has never won a Test series.
Being high on confidence after defeating Australia in their own backyard and leading England 2-1 in the COVID-19 affected series in their home, the Virat Kohli-led side would be looking to script history and register their first Test series win in South Africa.
While talking about the Test series between South Africa and India, former English cricketer Monty Panesar feels that visitors have a great chance to win and they are favourites to win the series.
He pointed out that the Virat Kohli-led side knows how to win the Tests away from the home as former coach Ravi Shastri has instilled that belief in them.
He added that this will be the best chance for the Indian Cricket Team to win their first Test series in South Africa and their team is much stronger than the hosts.
"I think India have got a great chance. They seem like a favourite to win that series. They know how to win now away from India and that is to do with Ravi Shastri's coaching philosophy. He really instilled that belief, the motivation to say guys any situation we are going to fight and if you are in a dominant position then we are going to keep our foot on the throat.
“So, I think it is still there within this Indian team and this will be historic for Indian cricket for them to win their first series in South Africa and this is their best chance. They have got a stronger team. Their team is much stronger than the South Africans. I think India are firm favourites to win the series," Monty Panesar told ANI.
While talking about Virat Kohli’s form, Monty Panesar said that the Indian Test skipper will be motivated because he will be aware that if he doesn’t score runs his batting position could be up for grabs.
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He remarked that the right-hander will be under pressure and would want to get some wins under his belt and if teams win and he doesn’t score runs that’s still a positive for him.
He added that Virat Kohli should only think about winning a series in South Africa and that’s what BCCI wants from him.
"I think he will be very motivated because he knows that if he does not score a lot of runs in Test cricket then that position could be up for grabs as well. So, he is under pressure to perform but he needs to do well and actually get some wins and even India are winning and he does not score the runs that still is a positive for Virat Kohli because he knows how to get the best out of an individual.
“So, he needs to put that aside now and think about how to win in South Africa which is far more important and that is what I think BCCI wants from him. He wants to get the best eleven out there to win this Test series," he said.
Monty Panesar further backed BCCI’s decision to sack Virat Kohli as the ODI skipper, suggesting that Sourav Ganguly took that decision by considering his own experience and the upcoming back-to-back World Cups in the next two years.
"I think the board made the right decision because in the past you need one captain for ODI and T20 cricket and Sourav Ganguly made the right decision because he was one of the first cricketers who actually brought in that fight for beating other oppositions away from India and especially in white-ball cricket he very much knows from the leadership point of view that one captain is already better and since Virat Kohli wanted to step away from T20 captaincy and I think he gave him the opportunity for Rohit Sharma to actually captain both teams because two big tournaments are coming up with the T20 World Cup and also the World Cup in India is the best time to have a white-ball captain for white-ball and let Virat Kohli focus on Test duties," he concluded.
(ANI Inputs)
