Gary Kirsten believes India missed a trick by fielding five bowlers against South Africa

What's the story?

While the debate surrounding India's team selection for the first two Tests against South Africa has been focussed on personnel, with eyeballs being raised about the exclusion of Ajinkya Rajane and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, former India coach and South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten believes Virat Kohli & Co got it wrong with their team combination.

While the Indian bowlers have earned much praise for their efforts in picking up 20 wickets at both Cape Town and Centurion, Kirsten feels India would have benefitted more from having an extra batsman in their line-up.

"Batting is traditionally tough in the South African conditions, so the more the batsmen the better (it is)," Kirsten said.

"I have always believed that a Test match team should contain as many specialists as possible in it. Whilst taking 20 wickets allows a team to win games, scoring enough runs will always keep a team in the game," he added.

In case you didn't know..

The Indian team has fought valiantly in the opening two matches of the ongoing 3-Test series against the Proteas but results have unfortunately gone the other way as the visitors lost the series opener at Cape Town by 72 runs before losing the second match at Centurion by 135 runs.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has invited criticism from various quarters for his decision to pick Rohit Sharma in the playing eleven for the first two matches ahead of Ajinkya Rahane.

Even stranger was his decision to drop Bhuvaneshwar Kumar from the team for the second Test after picking up six wickets as well as facing the maximum number of deliveries with the bat in the opening Test at Cape Town.

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The heart of the matter

Kirsten may be set to work alongside Virat Kohli as the batting coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in the 2018 edition of the IPL, but he made it clear that he differed in his opinion about India's team combination in South Africa.

While Kohli has mostly opted to play with five bowlers since succeeding MS Dhoni as skipper of the Indian Test side - a strategy that has served Team India well in their successful run at home and in away Test series against Sri Lanka and West Indies - Kirsten feels the pitches in South Africa demands the presence of an extra batsman in the playing eleven.

The 50-year-old also weighed in on the controversial decision to pick Rohit Sharma over Ajinkya Rahane without stating the obvious saying that the player with better technique and resilience suited to the conditions in South Africa should have been selected.

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What's next?

The series may be lost but India will be hopeful of reclaiming their pride when they take on South Africa in the third and final Test of the series at Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Kohli is set to ring the changes yet again with Rahane finally set to make an appearance while Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is also expected to make his way back into the side.

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Author's take

Always forthright with his opinions, Kirsten hit the nail on the head with his comments on India's failure in the first two Tests against South Africa.

Having coached the Indian side to victory in the 2011 World Cup, Kirsten is aware of how Kohli backs himself but unfortunately, his gamble in South Africa has not quite paid off with Rohit Sharma scoring just 78 runs in four innings.

It is high time Rahane gets a look-in and it will be interesting to see whether Kohli pays heed to Kirsten's words and play an extra batsman in the playing eleven, though it seems highly unlikely.