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Rohit Sharma will always struggle in South Africa due to his footwork: Kepler Wessels

TOI caught up with former South African captain Kepler Wessels who spoke on Rohit Sharma's struggle , the current Indian team set... Read More
MUMBAI: In his playing days, he was acknowledged for being a doughty, tough man to dislodge at the crease, at a time when some of the best fast bowlers terrorised batsmen at will. Kepler Wessels also entered a unique bracket when he opened the batting for Australia, and then led South Africa, after the latter came back into the international fold.


On Saturday, TOI caught up with the former South African captain who's in India to fulfil his broadcasting duties for the ongoing India-South Africa series.


Excerpts from an interview.
Why is Rohit Sharma struggling in South Africa?He will always struggle to score runs in SA because of his footwork. He plants his front foot across to the off-side and in SA, the pitches always seam and bounce a bit. This is the reason that he averages around 10 there. He’ll always struggle there because of his technique. It doesn’t affect him in India and even in Australia, because the ball doesn’t seam there, it just bounces, but when you have seam and bounce, with that technique, he’s got a problem.

You were a left-handed opener yourself. How impressed are you with Shikhar Dhawan?He looks very impressive in one-day cricket. He’s superb there. In the Tests, he’s still vulnerable to the short ball, but the overall package is very good.

India were outclassed in the Tests, but they are playing at a different level in the ODIs. What has changed?I think that they’ve got a totally different team, a totally different arsenal. They have introduced the two legspinners which has totally confused the SA set-up. I think that India’s One-Day team at the moment is very good. Their Test team is good too. I mean they are ranked No. 1 in the Tests, but I think that this ODI team, with the combination and variety that they have is excellent.

What’s your take on India’s pace attack?It has impressed me. I thought that they bowled superbly in the Tests. They bowled wicket-taking deliveries. Before the Tests, I thought that the Indian batsmen would score runs and the bowlers would struggle to bowl SA out, but it turned out to be the other way around. The bowlers were really good and the batsmen struggled.
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What has been especially good about India’s pacers?They’ve got good skills. They move the ball, hit the seam, and have also got variety. They are all a bit different (to each other). Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) swings it nicely, Bumrah hits the pitch hard. He can also bowl some nice yorkers and quick bouncers. So, that has been a big plus as far as Indian cricket is concerned… the fact that they now have fast bowlers who can take wickets abroad.

Why are SA’s batsmen struggling so much against leg spin?I’m a little bit surprised (to see) them struggle to the degree that they have (against the leggies). Then also, when you take out all their entire top batsmen (due to injuries), with the exception of Hashim Amla, and expose all their inexperienced players, I suppose that’s going to happen, but I have been a bit surprised that they have struggled as badly as they have. They are particularly struggling to play the wrist spin and the chinaman. They are facing difficulty picking the ball which turns away from the right angle, that’s the one they are really struggling with.

With Kuldeep Yadav being a chinaman bowler, does that make it more difficult for SA’s batsman?It is the lack of not seeing that kind of bowler. Some of those guys have never ever played a chinaman bowler before. In addition, they didn’t realise how good those two wrist spinners were. They were blindsided by that. I’m sure that they did know that they were good, but they didn’t know how good (this duo is) and they were a bit surprised by that.

Does that mean that they don’t play enough good wrist spin at home?I don’t see any wrist spinners in SA (in domestic cricket). In our domestic cricket, matches are played on seamer-friendly tracks.

Is there a concern that beyond De Villiers, Hashim Amla and skipper Faf du Plessis, there is lack of depth of depth in the Proteas’ batting?Yes there is, because all three of them are of the same age more or less. There’s a chance that post 2019, they might not be there anymore, so nobody else will be exceptional or remarkable to put their hand up (to replace them).

In the background of what has transpired in India-South Africa Tests in recent times, how do you tackle the issue of teams making poor wickets to take home advantage?The groundsmen should be allowed to prepare the surfaces the way they want to. In India, you’ll always get a pitch that turns, and in South Africa, you’ll always get a pitch on which the ball seams a bit. But if you have too much interference from pitch consultants, captains and the coaches, then that confuses the ground-staff, and that’s where you end up with surfaces which are sub-standard.

Considering how India are playing in SA currently, do you see them as the favourites going into the 2019 World Cup?I wouldn’t say favourites, but they will be very competitive. Barring injuries to key players, it’s looking good for them. They will be difficult to beat.

And where does South Africa stand?Right now, we're going to need to improve in every department. They need to make sure that their key players are playing well when they are in form. They need to get more variety in the bowling department. They don’t have the spinners right now.
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