Former cricket player Gautam Gambhir has spoken on the impending challenge for the Indian batting order as the highly anticipated Test series between South Africa and India draws near. Gautam Gambhir thinks that because South African pitches are predicted to be fast and bounce, India’s batting lineup will have a tough test when the first game takes place in Centurion on December 26. The southpaw emphasized the critical roles that veteran players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have played in leading India’s batting attack.
Citing South Africa’s improvement in batting after 2011, he underscored the pressure on India. Gautam Gambhir brought to light the hosts’ relative lack of a strong batting lineup, which put more pressure on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to take the initiative and maintain composure in the face of the home team’s bowling lineup.
“Bounce, pace, and seam. South Africa likely does not have the same batting lineup as they did in 2011, but their bowling still has the strength of Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, and Marco Jansen, so I think your batting will surely be under pressure,” Gambhir stated in a Star Sports talk.
Since Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have that experience, I think they will be under more pressure. In South Africa, bowlers can win the series without a doubt, but your batters must score runs in order to put pressure on your bowlers,” he continued.
India’s bowling unit is being evaluated without Shami.
When examining India’s bowling lineup, the former opener for the country pointed out Mohammed Shami’s absence and emphasized the team’s possible lack of experience. Prasidh Krishna and Mukesh Kumar are vying for the third seamer position, while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are expected to be India’s front-line seamers in Shami’s absence. Expecting the spinners to not work concurrently, Gambhir surmised that Shardul Thakur, along with either Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin, would complete the bowling assault.
Therefore, don’t limit your conversation to batting alone. There will be pressure on the bowlers as well because of the expectations. In the absence of Mohammed Shami, India would have been overwhelming favorites. Mohammed Siraj is not too old. I think your bowling will therefore be put to the test just as much as your batting,” he said.