South Africa's Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis said he was very confident about his spin options in the series against India and praised leg-spinner Imran Tahir for becoming the bowler who can win matches for them.
Tahir had come in for special praise from Sachin Tendulkar who had warned the Indians to be wary of the leg-spinner, especially his googlies.
Du Plessis said Tahir has proved that he could change the game in “white-ball format.”
“Imran Tahir has proven it right across the world that he changes games especially in white ball format. Imran himself has positively changed the past two years of South African cricket, he has changed the way we play. He has gotten us wickets in the middle overs where we have always relied on pace to strike for us. Now, certainly our success as a one-day team or T20I team weighs heavily on his shoulders. It is nice to know that we have also got that weapon in the spinning department,” Du Plessis said.
“JP Duminy is also seen as a part time spinner but he has also has real success especially in T20 cricket; he gets wickets all the time. Then we have got a young spinner in Eddie Leie which is great for him to come here and learn. Just to see how to bowl on these pitches and almost tap into Imran’s knowledge. I feel confident in our spinning options on this tour and we will be bringing a few extra guys in the Test team which will be great for them too to get better.”
Du Plessis said he was surprised to find dew in the evening and felt it could work to their advantage.
“Dew is never a nice thing for a bowling team or for a fielding team because the ball gets slippery. So I suppose hopefully the wet ball takes the challenge away from their spinners because the ball doesn’t spin as much which will hopefully play into our hands a little bit.
“It is obviously a lot different from the conditions we practiced in Delhi, this probably the quickest wicket in India, I suppose. It is possibly a nice way to start my campaign.”
Du Plessis admitted touring away from home for long time could be “quite tough mentally”. “A tour like India can get tough if you lose form and maybe it is one of the toughest places to be at. The conditions doesn’t make it easier. We have a lot of experience in our guys. We can help the younger guys out when the tour gets a bit long for them,” he said.