IND v SA | Want to see Faf get up the order, like Steve Smith or Virat Kohli, says Hashim Amla

Since the home series against Australia in 2014, du Plessis hasn’t batted at the No.4 position in red-ball cricket consistently. As the senior pro, and skipper, he now takes up the No.5 spot in order to hold the midfield together, but the veteran ex-opener Amla thinks otherwise.

“In terms of our batting strategy, I think the idea we can float around is maybe getting Faf up the order. We can maybe get him up to three or two four. When I look at most teams around the world, most of them have their best batsman batting at four. Steven Smith for Australia, Joe Root for England, Virat Kohli for India,” Amla said during a television commentary stint, reported SACricketMag. 

“That’s an idea for the next Test – get your best place in early. That can settle the nerves for everybody. The idea that he is number five now is to have things settled in the middle order. Another idea is to get him up the order to settle it earlier,” Amla said.

“He could then get out earlier, yes, but as a percentage, it might just help. It would be better having the other guys coming in at 100-2 rather than 20-3.” Amla added.

After a 203-run loss in the first Test, in which fans and pundits alike praised their fighting spirit, the Proteas will look to fight back at Pune on Thursday and earn their first points in the ICC Test Championship.