There will be no stopping India if Virat is in form, says Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid believes that if Virat Kohli gets going, then it will be very difficult for the South African team to stop him from scoring huge runs. The India Under-19 coach has also stated that the senior players' experience in playing those conditions, will keep the team in good stead in the tour.
In what promises to be an eye-catching series, which commences on January 5 at Cape Town, the Indian national team will set out to achieve the impossible when they take on the mighty South Africans whom they have never been able to defeat on home turf, with a 1-1 draw in 2011 being their best result in the testing conditions. Kohli had been a part of the touring party in 2013 and scored a century that gave South Africa a scare in the Johannesburg Test and he averages an incredible 68 in the rainbow nation. And Dravid highlighted that his performance will be the key for the Indian team’s overall performance.
"With the way Virat is playing right now, I hope he continues to make runs in South Africa as well. He has made a lot of runs in Australia, where we see playing conditions similar to South Africa. Every cricketer needs a bit of luck and if Virat gets it on the tour, I believe there will be no stopping us," Dravid told India TV.
Indian U-19 coach, Dravid, is rather optimistic about India’s chances in the upcoming series and stated, "They have a fair chance this time because it's a balanced team. They've got good spinners, fast bowlers and all-rounders. Our batsmen are also well experienced. I hope we put up a strong performance this time in South Africa."
After the Indian batsmen's fragility against the moving ball got exposed in the recent matches on seamer-friendly wickets, the critics jumped into the bandwagon and it was conveniently forgotten that the same performed pretty well in South Africa while winning a Test in England in 2014. The Indian top-order has good enough experience of playing there and can bring that to fore in the upcoming series. And Dravid just attested the same and stated that the team have the idea of what to expect from the tour.
"We aren't going to South Africa for the first time. Senior batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, all have toured South Africa before. They have an idea of what to expect from those playing conditions. If you have a fair idea of conditions, you can prepare well for challenges ahead," he went on to add.
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