On his way to become one of the greatest white-ball cricketers of all time, Rohit Sharma will try to stake a claim as India’s first-choice opening Test batsman when they start a series against South Africa on Wednesday looking for a record-breaking win.
Victory in the three-match series would see India break the record of 10 straight home series wins they currently hold with Australia.
Much focus in the first Test in Visakhapatnam will be on the 32-year-old Mumbaikar – a star of India’s limited-overs teams as well as skipper of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He has not been a Test regular, however. The last of his 27 Test caps since 2013 was in Australia last year.
READ: Rohit Sharma, the Test opener, needs to bat like Rohit Sharma, the ODI opener
He now has a new chance, replacing the out-of-form KL Rahul, as the opening positions remain a problem for India.
“He has worked so hard and if he gets an opportunity, I am sure he will do well,” vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said of Sharma. “We all know the quality he has. He is simply special.”
The new Sharma experiment had a less than auspicious start, however – he was dismissed for a duck on the second ball he faced in a practice game against the South Africans.
Virat Kohli backed Rohit on the eve of the match, assuring him enough opportunities.
“If he does that (succeeds in the opening role), then our batting order at the top becomes more lethal. It is difficult to have a player like that to not start every time,” said Kohli, adding “if he comes into his own then the whole batting order looks a completely different batting order anywhere in the world.”
Focus on Saha, Ashwin
Kohli’s India registered their 10th home series win with a 2-0 sweep over the West Indies last year. They have not lost a home series since 2013.
There were a few eyebrows raised when the Indian captain confirmed that Wriddhiman Saha will take over from Rishabh Pant behind the stumps.
Wriddhiman Saha vs Rishabh Pant: A surprising call by Virat Kohli but perhaps the right one
At Pant’s expense, Saha will play his first international match in 22 months after India captain confirmed that the Delhi keeper-batsman was being dropped from the first Test of India’s home season.
The prospect of playing on rank turners coupled with Pant’s indifferent form with the bat in recent times has opened the door for the technically sound Saha.
“Saha is fit and fine to go. He is going to start the series for us. His keeping credentials are for everyone to see. He has done well with the bat whenever he has got a chance. According to me, he is the best keeper in the world,” said Kohli.
The captain also confirmed the availability of seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ashwin, who is yet to play international cricket since he injured himself during the Adelaide Test win last December, was not part of the Tests in the West Indies and he will be raring to go.
The rest of line-up looks settled with India fielding two pacers and as many spinners. If the wicket is turning, Hanuma Vihari will be expected to contribute as the third-spinner.
Can SA make a mark?
India will definitely miss premier paceman Jasprit Bumrah because of a stress fracture of the back, but the hosts are still favourites against an inexperienced South Africans led by Faf du Plessis.
This will be South Africa’s first series since the retirement of Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn last month. Former captain Amla was the Proteas’ second-highest Test scorer with 9,282 runs. Steyn was the nation’s leading Test bowler with 439 Test scalps.
In the new squad, fast bowler Anrich Nortje, wicketkeeper-batsman Rudi Second and left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy are all uncapped.
Vernon Philander, who took Sharma’s wicket in the three-day practice match, is confident of a good show in South Africa’s first game in the World Test Championship.
“The spotlight will be on a lot of big players to make a statement. Our job is to come here and give the first punch as India is obviously expected to do well,” said Philander.
Kagiso Rabada will spearhead the pace attack for South Africa who beat India 2-1 in a home series last year.
Not many are giving the Proteas a chance in the series, especially if the ball starts to turn. Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma were amongst the runs in the warm-up and that should give them confidence ahead of the game.
India won a four-match series 3-0 with one draw when South Africa last toured in 2015.
Squads:
India’s confirmed playing XI:
Virat Kohli (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma
South Africa squad:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
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