IND vs SA: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Are Not There But We Don't See It As Taking On 'B' Side - Temba Bavuma

South African skipper Temba Bavuma downplayed the absence of batting stars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, ahead of their 5-match T20I series on Indian soil.

Bavuma and co. have begun their preparations against a side that will bear a new look. Rohit and Kohli have been rested with KL Rahul taking over as the leader and Rishabh Pant acting as his deputy.

“The conditions in India don’t accurately simulate conditions in Australia. In saying that, there’s still a lot of benefit from playing. Any type of competitive cricket will be good for us.”

“We’ll be using these games really to familiarise ourselves again with how we go about playing cricket.

“Getting that right language that we speak amongst ourselves, really getting guys understanding what their roles are within the team,” Bavuma said during a virtual media interaction.

Even though the senior players are absent, it is a huge opportunity for South Africa to test out their players and Bavuma plans to do so.

“It’s obviously a new-look Indian side. A lot of guys who have done well in the recent IPL have been given opportunities. From us, as a team, we wouldn’t be looking at it any differently.”

“We don’t really see it as taking on a ‘B’ side. We have played against the Indian T20 side. So, going into the game, we’ll still be as motivated as ever. The competitiveness will be there,” he added.

“The guys are individually speaking about them” – Temba Bavuma on subcontinent conditions

A few key players from the Proteas squad – Kagiso Rabada, David Miller, and Marco Jansen – have played in the IPL 2022 season and they will be aware of the conditions they will be up against.

“It will be a challenge. We’ve played against them a couple of times, and one hopes that we have a better understanding of conditions here in India.

“The guys are individually speaking about them. They have the individual ways of approaching spin and how they can be successful.”

“For the younger guys, it’ll be important how the others share that knowledge.

“The way that we played slow bowling over the last 18 months or so as a group gives us a lot of confidence and belief that we can dominate spin bowling and different types of bowling,” the skipper concluded.

Also, Read – Should The ICC Limit T20Is To World Cups? Ravi Shastri Believes Cricket To Follow In The Footsteps Of Football