Shukri Conrad.
Credit: DH Photo
Kolkata: Shukri Conrad has enjoyed great success in his 20 Tests as the head coach of the South African team, having seen Temba Bavuma and Co lift the World Test Championship in June this year and level the two-Test series against Pakistan before their India sojourn for a full-fledged bilateral engagement that begins with first of the two Tests here on Friday.
Conrad, without beating around the bush, acknowledged that the series against India is their biggest challenge.
"Look, India is a tough challenge anywhere in the world, and when you come to an iconic venue like Eden Gardens, it just makes it even tougher," Conrad said. "I don't think you can compare the quality of the sides we played against Pakistan to India and this will be our biggest challenge, certainly in my 20th match. I don't think there's been a bigger challenge. Yes, we had the (WTC) final against Australia that we won, which was massive. I compare this series and this match to that final, that's how big it is for us."
The 58-year-old coach said his team would derive confidence from their spinners' performance against Pakistan. Between Keshav Maharaj (9 wkts, one Test), Senuran Muthusamy (11 wkts, two Tests) and Simon Harmer (13 wkts, two Tests), the three spinners took 33 wickets to show they can match Indian spinners in helpful conditions.
"I think previously, and this is not saying that we didn't have good spinners in the past, but certainly we think we've got a better pack of spinners now," Conrad emphasised. "Obviously, Keshav, Simon and Sen, so I think it gives us a lot of confidence that if the conditions are (favourable to spinners), we feel that we've got the armoury to obviously challenge India in that respect as well."
While spin and turning tracks have dominated the discourse thus far, Conrad agreed fast bowlers, too, have a big role to play in the series, especially at Eden Gardens.
"I think everybody talks about spin in India, but on both sides they've got world-class fast bowlers," he said. "And again, if history is to be believed, then there's always something for the fast bowlers at Eden Gardens. So I expect the fast bowlers on both sides to have an impact on the game, especially in the first couple of days, and for spin to come in slightly later.
"So, yeah, there's so many battles within the Test match, within this big war. Fast bowlers, you're talking (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Kagiso) Rabada, (Marco) Jansen, (Mohammed) Siraj. The spinners, and then the batting match-ups. It's certainly a mouth-watering contest, and if you're a fan of cricket, I know what you're going to be doing for the next couple of days. So there's so many exciting battles to look forward to, and you've got to earn the right to get to the spin by taking care of the fast bowlers properly."