Venkatesh Prasad names the player who poses threat to India on SA tour

The upcoming South Africa tour will be a challenging one, as the Men in Blue have never succeeded in winning a Test series in the rainbow nation. The Indian team, of late, has enjoyed umpteen success, and their indomitable form in the recently concluded home-season serve as a testament to that. And the Virat Kohli-led squad will aim to do an encore with their newfound confidence under the tutelage of the new Indian skipper.

Returning from injury, Protea speedster Dale Steyn is set to lead the pace laden South African bowling attack. However, former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad feels that Steyn and Morkel, who are both making a comeback after an injury lay-off, will not be much of a threat to the formidable Indian batting lineup but the visitors need to be wary of Kagiso Rabada.

He also opined that Ishant Sharma is yet to realize his true potential and wants the lanky speedster to lead the Indian attack in next month’s tour of South Africa.  Lauding Ishant Sharma, Prasad said according to quotes on TOI, “Ishant has been around for more than a decade. It is high time that he leads the attack. I don’t know what the issue is. He has got the pace, the height, the aggression but he has not realized his potential. He should be playing the role that Srinath (Javagal) played when he was around, or Zaheer Khan or Kapil Dev when they played.”

Variety in India’s bowling attack

Prasad, 48, feels that the Indian batsmen can comfortably post scores north of 350 against the Protea bowlers. This will, in turn, give the Indian speedster’s a competitive total to restrict. Prasad feels there is enough variety but a lot would depend on how they adapt to the conditions.

India has picked up five pace specialists – Ishant, Umesh Yadav, Bhuveshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, for the three-Test series starting in Cape Town on January 5. Bumrah received his maiden call-up in Tests after doing well consistently in the shorter formats.