Indian Batsmen Are Going Back to South Africa as Better Players - Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly, the former Team India skipper, has said the fact that team India’s batsmen have been there to South Africa would benefit the side when they tour the country next year,

“Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay have all been to South Africa before. So, they have a good idea about the conditions there. And the best thing is that they are going back to South Africa as better players,” Ganguly told TOI.

He (Ganguly) also backed team India’s pacers and said the bowlers could take wickets there,

“It won’t be easy, that much I can tell you. But yes, we have a good team this time. If the batsmen are able to put up runs on the board, this attack can pick the wickets,” he added.

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Ganguly was present at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune where Bengal is playing Delhi in the semifinal of the Ranji Trophy. He was also there during the quarterfinal game as well. Ahead of the semifinal, VVS Laxman also paid a visit to Bengal’s camp.

Though Bengal has conceded the first innings to Delhi, the bowlers are still looking to get the remaining wickets of Delhi.

Talking of India’s tour of South Africa, the success of the team will depend on senior players like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

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On the previous tour, team India lost the series by a margin of 1-0. Indian openers, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, had mixed results, whereas, Chetshwar Pujara shone with 280 runs in four innings. Though, after that, he is yet to perform on foreign tours. On the other hand, Vijay has done well on the overseas tours as well.

Talking of India’s bowling, skipper Virat Kohli will have oodles of options to choose from. Though Jasprit Bumrah is not expected to make his debut on tour, the other four pacers in the side will make it difficult for the skipper.

Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems to be the permanent player in the side. Only two of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami are expected to play.

In the spin lineup, one-off R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will play while there will be another close race between Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma. Pandya is expected to get the nod because he will provide the extra pace option to the team.

India tour of South Africa will start on January 5. Indian team is yet to win a Test series in South Africa.

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