Green wickets will prepare batsmen, they’ll not be a fish out of water in SA, says Pravin Amre

With India getting little to no time for preparations before they head to South Africa early next year, it was a brilliant call on the part of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri to face Sri Lanka on green pitches that would help India get acquainted with South African conditions. And it has already panned out well for their bowlers with the likes of Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammad Shami getting good purchase, though Indian batsmen still have a lot to improve upon.

“Also, just winning against Sri Lanka wouldn’t make much sense as the conditions would be in complete contrast in South Africa. But now they will be prepared. Kohli has taken the right decision and shows that he thinks way ahead of others.”

Rahane has to play a crucial role down the batting order in South Africa where the batsmen have always struggled, and Amre believes that the middle-order batsman is just one good shot away from bouncing back to form and it is just a matter of time before he does it.

“Ups and downs are part and parcel of any sports person’s life. But if you sit and analyse, the second innings dismissal (of Rahane) was unfortunate. As for the first one, it was a good ball and the overcast conditions helped the bowler… He just needs to do his job and just like one good ball can dismiss you, one good shot can bring your confidence back. It is not always a 50 or 100 that helps your confidence. A good shot, a couple of balls hitting the sweet spot is enough to bring back your A-game,” said Amre.