Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar says South Africa will be a tough challenge for India in the upcoming Test series and marked out Proteas leg-spinner Imran Tahir as the one bowler to watch out for.
The first match of the two-Test series between India and South Africa will be played at Nagpur's VCA stadium in Jamtha from February 6 to 10, while the second will be at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from the 14th to 18th. The Proteas are scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on January 31 and proceed to Nagpur the next day, according to sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
He expressed hope that it will also benefit a large number of Hindi-speaking umpires and those giving training in this field, to whom the rules in English are hard to understand.
India needs to get the team composition right in the third and final Twenty20 International to prevent South Africa from recording a clean sweep, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka thrashed South Africa by 128 runs in Colombo on Wednesday to wrap up the one-day series 4-1.
South Africa are still fretting over the fitness of their key batting all rounder Jean-Paul Duminy ahead of their opening Test against hosts India commencing at Mohali on November 5.
South Africa won their first game at the World Cup, beating Afghanistan by nine wickets (DLS). Imran Tahir finished with figures of 4 for 29, the best figures by a spinner in the tournament so
Pacer Mohammed Siraj bagged his maiden 10-wicket haul as India 'A' beat South Africa 'A' by a comprehensive innings and 30 runs after stiff resistance from the middle order on the final day of the first 'Test'.
Earlier, on the back of Virat Kohli's 160 (not out), India reached a total of 303 for 6 in their 50 overs.
While wicket-keeper-batsman Klaasen recently notched 69 runs from 30 balls in South Africa's six-wicket win over India in the 2nd T20I, 20-year-old Mulder has played a single ODI against Bangladesh at East London in October 2017.
Under heavy criticism for losing the one-day series against South Africa, Australia skipper Ricky Ponting on Tuesday said that his side was hit hard by a string of injuries which kept most of his key players out of action.
PCB CEO Wasim Khan told the media that he and Chairman Ehsan Mani would be meeting with Misbah very soon to discuss his performance.
India are on cusp of a first ever series win on South African soil across formats as they lead 3-0 in the six-match ODI series.
Dale Steyn said he has made the decision in order to prolong his international career.
Sudeep Tyagi and Siddharth Trivedi, the medium pacers from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat respectively, won't be a part of the Saurashtra Ranji Trophy squad for the first two matches this season.
He believes that skill level has been impacted because players are playing more T20s than Test cricket now.
Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed insists his side have put their defeat to India last time out behind them.
Former South Africa One-day International captain Johan Botha has had doubt cast on the legitimacy of his bowling action for the third time in his career and will have to undergo biomechanical analysis.
Former South Africa one-day international captain Johan Botha has had doubt cast on the legitimacy of his bowling action for the third time in his career and will have to undergo biomechanical analysis.
Australian fielding coach Greg Blewett believes that sharp fielding will play a paramount role in the upcoming quarter-final tie against Pakistan on Friday in Adelaide.
Former South Africa coach Ray Jennings feels that India captain Virat Kohli can be 'intimidating in the dressing room.'
The all-rounder captained South Africa at the age of 42 on their historic post-isolation limited overs tour of India in 1991, but was then controversially left out of the squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year.
The number of positive cases in India stands at 43 at the moment and the South African team that landed in the national capital for three ODIs in the wee hours of Monday, will 'strictly adhere' to the healthcare protocols. The likes of Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis have been briefed about health safety measures, including restrictions on fan interactions and selfies among other things.
'I have to be very careful about how I go forward with my body, my mind and my cricket.'
The former opening batsman joined as DOC in December last year following the suspension of CEO Thabang Moroe and has since signed a two-year deal with the option of extending for a third term.
South Africa middle-order batsman JP Duminy said the Proteas need to go back to the drawing board and re-work their plan to tackle the Indian wrist-spin duo.
South Africa's talismanic captain AB de Villiers has recovered from injury and been included in the Proteas squad for the One-day series at home against Australia starting later this month.
Off-spinner R Ashwin, who has been phenomenal in home conditions, has made it to the Test team as the 12th man, while pacer Mohammed Shami has been included in the ODI team.
'He's got the right mindset to dominate as a leader too. He just needs some time'
Only the top ten teams will be taking part in this World Cup and they all will play each other in a round-robin format before the semi-finals stage.
Australia's three-match series in South Africa will finalise their World T20 preparations.
South African speedster Dale Steyn will miss the fourth and final test against India with a lingering groin injury that has limited his participation in the four-match series to a solitary contest in the series-opener in Mohali.
'You can't be anything but positive going into the World Cup. We believe we have every chance to win the World Cup. What has happened in the past, you got to let go of that'
'It's Test cricket and (Shannon) is an emotional guy trying to do everything he can to win a Test match. Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret'
England's top order crumbled to 20 for six wickets in five overs as they were dismissed for a modest total of 153 before the Proteas cruised to a seven-wicket victory for a consolation triumph after the hosts won the first two matches of the series.
Australia fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will miss the tour of South Africa to rest ahead of a busy international programme at home, Cricket Australia said on Friday.
'The structure of the team needs to change. It is very hard to play with two seamers. We definitely need to find a third seamer who can bat. There's Saifuddin but he is struggling with injuries.'
Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn has cautioned his social media fans after a close run-in with a deadly snake in South Africa's Kruger National Park. Travelling by car with a friend in the National Park, located 400km north-east of Johannesburg, Steyn pulled over to help what he thought was an injured brown house snake. But the 32-year-old got more than he bargained for when he discovered it was in fact a deadly Black Mamba snake he was dealing with. Steyn posted a video of the encounter on Instagram and urged his followers to avoid getting in a similar situation to the one he found himself in. "So this poor guy was hit by a car, we stopped to move him out the road thinking it was a brown house snake," Steyn wrote on his Instragram account.
The choice of Jayant Yadav as back-up off-spinner in Test squad, or picking Baba Aparajith over the likes of Mandeep Singh and Sheldon Jackson in India A, could raise pertinent questions as to whether enough respect has been given by this committee when it comes to selecting performers in domestic cricket.
He will join his former Proteas team mate and close friend Jacques Kallis who is the head coach of the two-time Indian Premier League champions.
