Published: Sep 28, 2015, 03:58 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 28, 2015, 03:58 PM (IST)
Former South African cricketer Ray Jennings has seen the growth of India’s Test skipper, Virat Kohli, very closely. He was influential in changing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) into a winning side and has seen the meteoric rise of 18-year-old Kohli to becoming one of the leading talents in world cricket. Jennings spoke about the South Africa tour of India. Jennings believes for South Africa the biggest concern will be spin bowling. He said, “The biggest issue will be spin bowling. South Africa lack quality spinners and that area will be tested in India. We know Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are quality seamers but if the Indian batsmen play correctly, there will be more pressure on their spinners.”
“South African openers are quality players even though they are bit inexperienced. They are good players of pace bowling. It will be interesting to see how they play the spinners,” Jennings was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. Kagiso Rabada could be South Africa’s trump card in series against India
Jennings thinks Kohli has brought new energy into the team. “Virat Kohli brings new energy to this Indian side. I think he is trying to stamp his brand of cricket. This is a process that will take some time. He has already made an impact on the team. The South Africa series will test him because they are the top team in the world.” India vs South Africa 2015: Is this Proteas side the weakest ever to tour India?
“I had said during my second year in IPL that Virat would captain India one day. Virat is a fighter. He has got excellent cricketing brain. He analyses the situation well. His work ethics are very good. These are all the qualities of a good captain. We know Virat has one or two weaknesses and I am sure he will address those in the coming years. He is very passionate about his cricket and India will be benefitted with his fighting spirit. He has tremendous belief in himself. There’s no doubt Virat will be the key man for India in this series.” India vs South Africa 2015: Wiese, Morris should use IPL experience to their advantage
Speaking about the Indian batting, Jennings said, “They have got a correct batting line-up presently. They tried different players in No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 positions. The good thing about Indian cricket is they have depth and quality to put the game plan together. [Ravi] Shastri is a very clever and shrewd individual and it’s showing in the selection and combinations of the team. It’s not about just scoring runs or taking wickets. You got to understand the situation well. At the moment, they have depth both in bowling and batting and there’s a healthy competition among the players for places. You look at [Cheteshwar] Pujara. He is a quality cricketer. He was left out of team but came back and played a match-winning knock. Then you have KL Rahul, who has shown signs of becoming a good player. I first saw him at the RCB set-up in Mysore. He is very young and yet has shown the quality to handle Test cricket.” Suresh Raina can take over MS Dhoni’s role as finisher in ODIs and T20Is for India
Jennings feel India are not short of spin options and with Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra in the side, it will be good for the captain. “Indian spinners know how to bowl on those pitches; what pace to bowl at, how the wicket will behave over the five days. You have got different type of spinners. You have got Ashwin who really controls the game. Mishra is very different. You have got an off spinner, a leg-spinner and a left-arm spinner. India are never short on options. It’s good for the captain. From combination point of view, it’s the best spin bowling attack in the world.” Imran Tahir’s best chance to prove credentials during India vs South Africa 2015
Speaking on Kohli’s five-bowler theory, Jennings feels that to play five bowlers, the batsmen need to be world class. “To play five bowlers, your top six batsmen have to be world class. India are still trying to make sure that their top six players are world class. The top six batsmen need to be equally good to give the team the option to play with five bowlers all the time. It’s always an advantage when you have five bowlers. On the flip side, when you play with one batsman less, the opposition would want to have a couple of quick wickets and Kohli would be one of those wickets. You need to make sure that your best batsman among those five bowlers needs to be developed. It’s the new concept Kohli is looking at. It’s a dangerous combination to go in with as at some stage your bowlers will have to handle the pressure of batting.” Faf du Plessis’s experience in India will prove vital for South Africa
Jennings said that Steyn and Morkel won’t make huge impact due to the heat of Indian conditions and South Africa need to rely on their spinners. “Look, India are not going to prepare fast and lively wickets that would aid South African seamers. I am sure the wickets are going to be dry and South Africa will have to rely on their spinners because Steyn and Morkel, in that heat, won’t make a huge impact. This is going to be an area South Africa need to pay a lot of attention to. If they don’t, they will have to pay the penalty.” MS Dhoni should consider giving up wicketkeeping in order to extend ODI and T20I career
“I think it’s important for South Africa to win the first or second Test. If you do that you actually hold the series. The longer it takes, the harder it’s going for South Africa. If I were the coach, I would make sure to have a 1-0 or 2-0 lead because if that doesn’t happen, India are going to take control.” Why are Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma being forced to turn into all-rounders?
“Look, with AB De Villiers and Hashim Amla in the top five, you have two world class batsmen in any conditions. If you compare that to India, they have only one world class player. AB and Hashim are both very good players of spin. They have made runs in India before so that will give them the confidence. Amla is a wristy player, while AB loves to use his feet against spinners. If those two guys have a good series, it’s going to put a lot of pressure on Indian spinners. India will rely on their spinners to control the series. The others will have to bat around those two. The top five of both sides are very good and whoever performs well will have an impact on the series,” he concluded.
