I go to temples in Durban and know how to deal with pressure on spinners in India: Senuran Muthusamy

The South African team that has visited India for the three-Test series which began with the first match at Visakhapatnam on October 2nd, features lots of new faces in batting and bowlers as some of the stalwarts called time on their careers. AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Dale Steyn have been match-winners for the Proteas for a long time and have amazing records in India, but this time the trio is missing.

This has put more pressure on the likes of Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, and others to do well with the bat. While the bowling attack comprising of Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj have a big task at hand. Joining them will be a new face in Senuran Muthuswamy, a player of Tamil origin who has managed to stick to his Hindu routes and will partner Piedt and Maharaj in the spin department.

I have still got family in Nagapattinam, says Muthuswamy

Muthuswamy, a batting all-rounder boasts of a good record, with 3403 runs and 129 wickets in 69 FC matches, 1144 runs and 48 wickets in 52 List-A games for KwaZulu-Natal. He has 7 centuries and 18 half-centuries in FC format and has picked 7 five-wicket hauls and 1 ten-wicket haul as well. In a recent interview, Muthuswamy talked about his Indian roots and experience of playing in India for the first time.

“Our roots are from Chennai. I have still got a family in Nagapattinam (about 300 kms from Chennai). Many generations have passed through but the Indian connect is very much there and our culture is very much Indian,” 25-year-old Muthuswamy was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“I do yoga back home in Durban which has the largest Indian population in South Africa. We visit temples regularly and some of my family even speaks Tamil. Unfortunately, I don’t but I am slowly starting to learn the language,” he further added, saying that his parents were ecstatic to learn about his selection in the national team for the tour to India.

The all-rounder also spoke about the challenges that await him while playing in India, like the extreme heat and bowling on batting beauties. “You really got to deal with the heat. There is more pressure on the spinners here to win the game and it is about being consistent. It is the other way around back home. We come into play only in the fourth innings,” he said. He also pointed out that he had to make changes to his batting as well, adjusting his technique for the low bounce and dealing with the reverse swing being the priorities.

He aims to learn a lot about spin bowling during his time in India and use it to make himself a better bowler.