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South Africa captain Temba Bavuma is not looking forward to face Kuldeep Yadav in the upcoming Test series against India that will commence from November 14. He pointed out that the India spinner has the ability to deceive the batter with the ball turning in and out and added that he would rather face him in an A game.
"Yeah so I think for myself, it was the first time actually facing him. So that was quite nice. I'd rather face him in an A game than here in Kolkata. That is if he plays. I think, yeah, it takes a little bit of time to get used to him. Not a massive turn on the ball, but he can obviously deceive you off the wicket with the ball turning in and turning away," Bavuma said during the pre-match press-conference.
Bavuma highlights how big will a victory over India be
Bavuma also claimed that if the team go on to win against India, then it will be the second greatest victory after the World Test Championship (WTC) triumph earlier this year where they defeated Australia in the final. The Proteas have been in sublime form under Bavuma's leadership and have won nine out of the ten Tests they have played under him with one game ending as a draw. They will be looking to maintain that form in the series against India.
“Obviously, winning the World Test Championship not much can top that. But second to that would be winning in India. It’s something we haven’t managed for a long time, so it’s definitely high on our list of ambitions,” Bavuma stated.
Bavuma confident of his team despite poor record in India
Though South Africa haven't recorded a Test win in India for 15 years now and have lost seven consecutive red-ball matches in the country, Bavuma expressed confidence in his side and said that they are aware of how big of a challenge it will be defeat India on their own turf.
“We understand the magnitude of the challenge. Some of us have experienced the hurt before, so we know what it’s about. Looking at both teams, there’s a lot of talent, India have fantastic players, though a bit of inexperience, and it’s similar with our side. The guys are eager to test themselves against the best,” Bavuma stated.
India's squad for South Africa Tests: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep.
South Africa's squad for India Tests: Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram (VC), Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (WK), Zubayr Hamza, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj.
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