India vs South Africa, 1st Test: Bhuvneshwar Kumar reveals Kookaburra as one of the toughest balls to bowl with

India are touring South Africa for their first series of the year. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had last played Test against Sri Lanka in the first match at Eden Gardens. He is back in the Test squad against South Africa. Interacting with the media, Bhuvneshwar talked about the pitch conditions in South Africa and bowling with the Kookaburra ball.

‘Kookaburra is the toughest ball’

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“The first thing that comes to the mind when you are touring South Africa is bouncy wickets. But that is no surety of what kind of pitch you would get in the game,” said Bhuvneshwar. “If it is about dealing with the bounce for batsmen, bowlers will have to make the adjustment for bowling with the Kookaburra. When it comes to batsmen there is the bounce factor. But that is a factor for the bowlers too. The Kookaburra is the toughest ball to bowl with. It does not do too much after 25- 30 overs, so these are the kind of situations we are trying to prepare for.”

India’s performance against South Africa hasn’t been very good. However this year India has been very good for India as they are at the top of ICC Test rankings. Bhuvneshwar feels India have a good chance of winning against South Africa: “Everyone is confident. We know there is a chance to win a series in South Africa but to be able to do that we know we have to give our best. We have done well in the last two years and we are confident of doing well in these conditions.”

South Africa have a very strong batting line up with AB de Villiers making a comeback in the Test squad. However, Bhuvneshwar said they are not focussing on just one batsman: “All their batsmen are doing well. For us, it is all about how we do against their batsmen.”

India were forced to practice indoors today due to rain. The first Test will start January 5.