‘India need to be wary of Rabada’
While the Indian team is bracing up for pace on their tour of South Africa beginning January first week, former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad feels the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who are returning from an injury lay-off will not be a threat to the formidable Indian batting line-up.
Prasad, however, feels that Indian batting needs to wary of Kagiso Rabada.
“With due respect, I don’t see Steyn and Morkel posing a big threat. The bowler India need to watch out for is Rabada. He is young, he has got the pace and creates that awkward bounce for the batsman,” he said.
Prasad said there is no reason why India can’t post 350 or more consistently against the South African attack.
“Most of our batsmen have been doing really well and I expect their rich form to continue in South Africa. They are experienced enough to deal with the conditions.”
Prasad, however, added that the Indian players shouldn’t be burdened with expectations.
“Every time India tour South Africa, England or Australia, there is a tendency to put extra pressure on the bowlers. That is not fair.
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“It will be really important for the batsmen to put 350 runs or more on the board in the first innings. Then the bowlers come into play. I actually see the entire team performing well and win their maiden series in South Africa,” Prasad predicted.
The former India bowling coach feels Ishant Sharma is yet to realise his true potential and should be the main bowler in South Africa.
India have picked five specialist pacers -- Ishant, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah -- for the three-Test series starting in Cape Town on January 5.
By far the most experienced pacer out of the five, Ishant, has been bowling well of late but he is not sure to start in the eleven.
The 29-year-old made his Test debut way back in 2007 and has played 79 Tests since then, taking 226 wickets at an average of 36.55.
“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 realised 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,” Prasad said.
Talking about the Indian pacers picked for the South Africa tour, Prasad said there is enough variety but a lot would depend on how they adapt to the conditions.
“They all are different to each other. With more and more cricket being played and more rolling, the pitches in South Africa are not what they were 10-15 years ago.”
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