Rohit Sharma ready to tackle the South African pace attack

Rohit will be eyeing a productive return in familiar conditions

Team India batsman Rohit Sharma has spoken extensively about the frequent away tours which have ensured that the Indian batsmen are ready for the South African pacers. In a conversation with BCCI, the enigmatic right-hander opened up about the challenges which lay ahead for the team in the upcoming Freedom Series against the visiting South Africans.

Rohit attested to the fact that the current crop of Indian batsmen are finely tuned for countering skilled pace bowlers such as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel through the several away tours which they undertook in the last 2 seasons. But, he was rather wary of the South African spin combination.

He affirmed, “The last couple of years has really helped us as a batting unit because most of the games we played was outside India. That has given us a lot of confidence no matter what kind of attack we play.

“The tours that we had outside have really helped us getting evolved as a batting unit. It is not just their pace attack, they have got some quality spin bowlers as well. Their spin and pace, both will be effective and our focus would be on both the aspects.”

After working on enhancing their fielding skills, the nucleus of the Indian batting unit practiced on their batting for almost an hour. On the other hand, the Proteas landed in Dharamsala after they had slumped to a defeat against an India A side filled with aspiring youngsters.

But, Rohit did not consider the result to be a significant one. He explained, “These are practice games and the teams try and field their best combination. They try to use their reserve players as well in their practice matches.

“I don’t want to read too much into practice matches because every team is trying something or the other. We know they are one of the strongest sides and been one of the most consistent teams in all the three formats. But it will be a challenge for them to perform and do their best.”

He was also of the opinion that home advantage would be a deciding factor in the series. He said, “We have come here way before and gotten used to the conditions. It is always important to get adjusted to the conditions when you go to a new place.

“It is one of the challenges. We have gotten into the groove. It will be a challenge for us to regroup in this format and put the performance and we know that the T20 World Cup is just round the corner. We have to get the best out of all the T20 games we play from now on.”

The often maligned 28-year-old has come into the series on the back of 2 useful half-centuries against Sri Lanka at P Sara Oval and SSC which India went to win. One of the talking points about India’s performance was their marked improvement in fielding and close-in catching.

Rohit revealed, “We have practiced really hard over the last two days and we have focused a lot on the fielding and catching. It is one of the things that can change the course of the game at any given point.

We are working hard towards our batting and bowling but fielding is something that we are really focused on. You might have seen the results in Sri Lanka. The way we fielded in Sri Lanka was brilliant. Hopefully in the coming years, we will be the best fielding side.”

The elegant stroke-maker who represents Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy proclaimed that the experience of several South African squad members from playing in IPL could be countered by their familiarity to the Indians. The Freedom Series begins with the PayTM T20 Trophy starting from Friday.