‘Being able to play…’: South African superstar reveals tactics on tackling different challenges during India Tests

“Yeah, it’s always nice to be in the runs. I’ve been doing quite a bit of work on my batting, and I think there’s a heavy focus on being able to play spin and different ways to play it,” Hamza said during the first four-day against India A.

Zubayr Hamza is going to be up against the Indian spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar during the two-match Test series, and the Cape Town man said he has been doing some backroom preparation as well.

“I do research with the analysts regarding the conditions and bowlers. I have played in these conditions before, so, I have a bit of experience to kind of refer back to. So that will help hopefully. It’s about just being able to get to the pitch of the ball, that’s something that I am doing. If it spins a bit more, the game plan might change a little bit, maybe playing some sweeps and incorporating that into my game plan,” he said.

Hamza, who had played in the Ranchi Test in 2019, making 62 and 0 in South Africa’s innings defeat, understands that he faces stiff competition for a place in the eleven from players such as Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs. Hence, the right-hander would like to make a big score here to keep him in contention.

“I think the only currency is runs and big runs in games where you can actually change the outcome of the game. But yes, I’d like to score as many runs as I can, and hopefully influence the result of the game and put our team in a stronger position. And yeah, I’ll just enjoy it. It’s been a while in the Test squad, just counting. So, the opportunity to play is important for me and I’m enjoying it so far,” Hamza said.