SWOT analysis of South Africa's Test squad to tour India

Weaknesses:

Faf du Plessis averages 8.57 in Tests in India.

The South African team is an inexperienced outfit and out of the 15-member squad, only six have played Test cricket. The skipper Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar have played 4 Tests each in India, Rabada has played three and Temba Bavuma, Philander and DanePiedt have just played one Test each.

The batting unit seems to be a weak once without the presence of Hashim Amla who announced his retirement from international cricket after the 2019 World Cup.

Hashim Amla has called time on his international career.

Faf du Plessis had a horrid time in India in 2015 and in four Tests and seven innings, the South African skipper scored just 60 runs at an average of 8.57 with three ducks. Dean Elgar too had a difficult time and in 7 innings in India, the opener scored 137 runs at an average of 19.57. The vice captain Temba Bavuma has played one Test in India and scored 56 runs in two innings. Apart from the said batsmen, none of the batsmen have any experience of playing Test cricket in India and will find it difficult to negotiate the Indian spinners.

Spin will be of vital importance if South Africa have any chance of beating India in India. South Africa have named three spinners in their squad viz Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Dane Piedt. It is very unlikely that the South African spinners will trouble the strong Indian batting line-up. Piedt averages 36.04 in seven Tests, Maharaj averages 28.45 in 25 Tests whereas Muthusamy is yet to make his debut in Test cricket.

Thus expereinced batsmen and the absence of a world class spinner will be the biggest weaknesses of South Africa in the 3 match Test series.