Much to the dismay of the local media, India skipper Virat Kohli gave the traditional captains’ press-conference ahead of the first Test against South Africa a miss.
It was India batting coach Sanjay Bangar who fielded questions in place of the captain. Bangar indicated that India could opt for four bowlers at Newlands with the seaming conditions in mind.
“If it’s a bowling-friendly track then we might go with four bowlers and if the conditions are perceived to be batting-friendly we might opt for five bowlers. So that’s been the case right through the last 24 months and I don’t think it will be anything different here,” he said.
With spinning all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja still down with a viral flu, Bangar said that a final call on his availability would only be taken on Friday morning before the start of play. Meanwhile, he reaffirmed that opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan had been cleared to play at Newlands.
“Shikhar has been cleared and declared fit and is available for selection. Jadeja is yet to recover. His condition is still being monitored,” he stated.
Jadeja’s availability remains uncertain as of now.
The India coach expects a lot of seam movement on the Newlands pitch which bears a healthy covering of grass.
“As of now the conditions we found, we expect the ball to seam around a bit on day one. On days two and three, they are going to be very good batting conditions. We will take into consideration the extent of moisture on the surface tomorrow and we will take it from there,” Bangar assessed.
The former India all-rounder was delighted with the pace attack at the visitors’ disposal.
“All of them have got enough experience under their belt. We have got Ishant Sharma who probably is having his third tour of South Africa and all the bowlers have been rotated really well taking into account the workloads,” Bangar remarked.
The Newlands Test will be the first of a three matches comprising the ‘Freedom Series’ followed by six ODIs and three T20Is.
