Could have come 10 days earlier to SA: Shastri
Their weaknesses thoroughly exposed in unfamiliar conditions, India coach Ravi Shastri on Monday said Virat Kohli and Co. should have landed in South Africa earlier to acclimatise and called for more preparatory time ahead of future overseas tours.
India would be playing for a consolation win in the third and final Test starting Wednesday and Shastri conceded that "overseas conditions" are the main reason for being 0-2 down in the series. India had landed in South Africa on December 28, while the Test series got underway on January 5. "Back home, we are familiar with conditions. Ideally we shouldn't have to fight back (at home), but we fought back and we did well. Here, conditions are different. In hindsight I would say another ten days of practice here would have made a difference," Shastri said after a practice session here.
The coach was further questioned why Test specialists weren't sent in advance. He was also asked if an early departure to acclimatise for the tours of England and Australia later in the year would be taken into consideration. "There was a thought (to send Test specialists) early, but then you are disjointed. Those thoughts can be put in hindsight. But I would say the best thing would be reaching there (for future tours) two weeks earlier," replied Shastri.
"Unfortunately the schedule was such that you had matches (against Sri Lanka). But I am sure henceforth in the future when itineraries are made that will be taken into account. There is absolutely no doubt about that. You get there a couple of weeks earlier and prepare," he added.
Talking about the two Tests in Cape Town and Centurion, the Indian coach highlighted that the bowlers had done a splendid job, allowing the team to express themselves as the world's no.1 side. "No one expected our bowlers to fire the way they did and take 20 wickets so I would rather harp on that because for me that's the biggest positive of this tour. We are here to live and learn from our mistakes," Shastri said. “We had our moments in both Tests and we looked like the no.1 team when we bowled out South Africa for 130-odd. Or, when we closed the gap thanks to Virat's brilliant innings (Centurion)... we looked like the no.1 team in overseas conditions. Not many teams look half that when they come to India," he added.
India have never lost a Test series 3-0 in South Africa. Shastri highlighted that the morale in the dressing room is high, because the team is creating chances to win Tests in overseas conditions.
"Like South Africa, even we played with six batsmen, five plus one all-rounder. It means that responsibility on both sides on the top order is that much more... it won't be easy because South Africa have a very good attack as well. You have to have guts out there. There are no short cuts or half measures. You have to grind it out there," he said. "They have had chances in both Tests but they didn't make the most of it. So, when you believe you have a chance to win then you look forward to a Test," he added.
The Indian team held a full practice session Monday morning. The management was a bit circumspect about the practice pitches and Shastri even called up the Wanderers' head curator. The groundsmen then rolled the practice pitches before the batsmen took strike. Shastri, however, refused to complain about the conditions, reiterating that the track is the same for both the teams. "We are not here to moan about the tracks because like I said at the start of the game both teams play on the same surface. The good thing though is people won't crib and moan when matches in India also get over in two-and-a-half days," he said.