NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have opted to skip white-ball leg of the South Africa tour and will only be available for the Test series starting December 26.
But the former South Africa legend AB de Villiers is eagerly awaiting to see Kohli in action. He also fired a warning for Proteas, advising them to be cautious against the world-class Indian squad.”We will see the best of Virat.I cannot wait to see the chest out, the eye contact with the opposition, and being a bit verbal with everyone. Because he will be fired up for this series. South Africa will need to be careful. This Indian squad is pure world-class,” de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
De Villiers also spoke about India’s World Cup final loss to Australia and drew comparisons with South Africa’s 2015 semifinal loss. He said the series will serve as an opportunity for both Rohit and Kohli.
“When we lost in the semifinal in 2015, I can’t remember it was just a blur the next few months. I just didn’t want to know cricket and wanted to just pack my kit away. What works for Virat and Rohit is that they haven’t won a Test series in South Africa,” he said.
But the former South Africa legend AB de Villiers is eagerly awaiting to see Kohli in action. He also fired a warning for Proteas, advising them to be cautious against the world-class Indian squad.”We will see the best of Virat.I cannot wait to see the chest out, the eye contact with the opposition, and being a bit verbal with everyone. Because he will be fired up for this series. South Africa will need to be careful. This Indian squad is pure world-class,” de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
De Villiers also spoke about India’s World Cup final loss to Australia and drew comparisons with South Africa’s 2015 semifinal loss. He said the series will serve as an opportunity for both Rohit and Kohli.
“When we lost in the semifinal in 2015, I can’t remember it was just a blur the next few months. I just didn’t want to know cricket and wanted to just pack my kit away. What works for Virat and Rohit is that they haven’t won a Test series in South Africa,” he said.
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“For them, this is a great opportunity. We had the opportunity to win an ODI series in India just a few months after the 2015 World Cup and I was incredibly motivated as I thought this is the opportunity to show that we were still the best team in the world,” he further added.
Suryakumar Yadav, who is captaining the Indian team in the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia, will continue in the role in the shortest format during the three-match series against South Africa, while KL Rahul will be the skipper for the three-match ODI series.
The three-match T20I series will begin on December 10, which will be followed by three ODIs starting December 17 in Johannesburg.
