Proteas to get inside track on India tour

● After South Africa’s disastrous 2015 tour of India where they lost the four-Test series 3-0 on the back of insipid batting on poor surfaces, local knowledge in Amol Muzumdar was enlisted by Cricket SA with a view to prevent the same mess.

Muzumdar, who’ll be filling in as the interim batting coach for the three-match series starting in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, knows he has a tough task.

The 44-year-old Mumbaikar, who scored 11,167 runs in 171 first-class matches for Mumbai, Assam and Andra, has a short time to get SA’s batsmen into shape.

In the 2008 and 2010 India tours, where the series spoils were shared, nine 100s from five different SA batsmen were the difference.

Big hundreds win matches

Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis, all retired now, were the common batting denominators.

Amla and De Villiers couldn’t replicate their past form in 2015, even though De Villiers did his best with two 50s.

Pressed to comment on whether SA have fixed their batting against spin, Muzumdar said it was a work in progress.

However, he was impressed by Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder, who scored 100s for SA A in last week’s game against India A.

Markram also led the way in the threeday tour game against the India Board President’s XI in Vizianagaram that ended yesterday.

“I’d say it’s a work in progress. I thought they took a bit of time to settle down, but then came the two hundreds in the four-day game against India A at Mysore from Markram (161) and Mulder (131).

“I think these youngsters are without baggage from previous tours and it has a lot to do with their mental state,” Muzumdar said.

India will be without their star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah because of a lower back stress fracture.

Muzumdar, who’s managed to carve out a reasonable batting-coach career after his 21year first-class stint, acknowledged the significance of Bumrah’s loss, but also expected India’s other bowlers to step up.

Critical clarity of batting

Muzumdar said if the SA batsmen are clear with their batting plans, they’re in good shape.

“When you get to the subcontinent, there are a lot of things you have to adjust to. It starts with mental adjustments and then everything else can be done from there. This group doesn’t carry much mental baggage. A clear mind leads to clear execution,” Muzumdar said.

“It was good to see them learning and adapting to the conditions. I’m always a firm believer of how an open mind accelerates the learning process.”

I think these youngsters are without baggage

Amol Muzumdar Proteas interim batting coach