BCCI summons four pacers to South Africa as India's net bowlers

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named four pace bowlers to fly along with the Indian squad on the tour of South Africa. It is a known fact that the South African conditions are pace friendly. Hence, in a bid to help the Indian side prepare in the right way, the board has decided to add extra pace bowlers as the net bowlers on the tour.

Interestingly, even the Indian captain Virat Kohli had also emphasized on the need for the same. The board has responded well by taking this move. The four pacers who have managed to make the cut as the net bowlers for the national side are – Hyderabad’s Mohammed Siraj, Madhya Pradesh’s Avesh Khan, Navdeep Saini of Delhi and Kerala’s yorker specialist Basil Thampi.

A top BCCI official also noted that these four fast bowlers are the top performers in the domestic circuit. And more importantly, they are the next top four bowlers after the current crop of five bowlers in the national side.

“These four are the next-in-line bowlers after the top five who are in the Test squad. Since the pacers in the Test squad should not be put under over exertion during the net sessions, it is only prudent that the next best lot of quick bowlers are there to provide quality practice,” a BCCI official told PTI.

No warm-up game

Also, the team recently opted for no warm-up matches on the tour. The CSA had confirmed the news that the two-day warm up game which was scheduled to be played ahead of the three-match Test series, has been cancelled. The reason for the cancellation was not given by the board. The first Test of the three match Test series will commence on January 5. Cape Town will play the host for the tour starter.