South Africa tour will be challenging for India, hosts have a decent fast bowling attack: Wasim Jaffer

Former batter Wasim Jaffer reckoned that Team India have their task cut out for their upcoming tour of South Africa. The tour is scheduled to get underway with the three-match Test series, starting December 26 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Jaffer said that the Proteas pacers are expected to a pose stiff challenge to the Indian batters in the red-ball series.

Kagiso Rabada was one the wreckers in chief for the hosts when India toured South Africa back in 2018. Back then, the speedster picked up 15 wickets from three games as the home team won the three-match series 2-1. Jaffer stated that Rabada may end up ruffling quite a few feathers and the Indians need to be circumspect while facing him.

Their pace bowling will definitely challenge India, says Wasim Jaffer

“South Africa has a decent fast bowling attack, there is no doubt it (on Tuesday, CSA said that fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the series because of a recurring hit related injury). Rabada is one of the best. They have sufficient quality.

“Their pace bowling will definitely challenge India. But their batting is not the same it was before. Nonetheless, it will be a challenging tour for India,” Jaffer told Cricket Next.

Ahead of the Tests, Jaffer said that it’s imperative for India to score in excess of 400 if they want to get off to a winning start. The veteran mentioned that while bowling isn’t a matter of concern for the visitors, it’s their batting unit that needs to deliver in tough conditions.

“The Indian fast bowling is very experienced now. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have a lot of experience. I have been saying that if India scores 400 plus, it is more likely that it will win matches. The challenge is for the batters to put scores on the board.

In 2018, although India lost the series, their skipper Virat Kohli ended as the leading run-scorer of the series with 286 runs at an average of 47.66. Jaffer said that India have a balanced batting order and they aren’t completely dependent on their captain anymore.

“In 2018, Virat was the only one who got the runs. Now, India’s batting is more balanced in the top six. Rishabh (Pant) can change the game if he bats for one or one and a half hours,” Jaffer added.