S Sreesanth interview: Beating South Africa in South Africa will be like winning World Cup, says former India pacer

With the disappointment of falling narrowly short of an ICC title now firmly behind them, Team India focus on a new task at hand. That of conquering the ‘Final Frontier’ — beating South Africa in South Africa in a Test series.

Since the Proteas’ readmission in November 1991, India have toured the ‘Rainbow Nation’ a total of eight times, and have not won once. South Africa used to be far better a side for the better part of the 1990s and the 2000s but it’s been the other way round over the last 10 years, in which India have gone on to become a dominant side in all three formats, winning Tests all over the world including in Australia and England.

The only time a Test series in South Africa did not end in a defeat was in the 2010-11 tour in which the three-match series ended 1-1 following a series-levelling victory in Durban. And on two occasions (2006-07 and 2021-22), they ended up surrendering the series despite going 1-0 up with convincing victories.

Former India pacer S Sreesanth, however, believes the upcoming two-Test series that starts on Boxing Day in Centurion is India’s best opportunity to end their winless run, given the manner with which they’ve been steamrolling opponents of late as well as the kind of form a majority of their regular squad members are in.

“I think this is the best opportunity. Since the time South Africa came back into the international scene, this time we do have a great opportunity and a great chance to win a series there which is like a dream come true.

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“I would love to see India winning the Test series. It will be like winning the World Cup because winning against South Africa in South Africa is not going to be easy but as the Star Sports ad says, ‘Mazaa ayeega’,” Sreesanth told Firstpost in an exclusive chat on the sidelines of the 2023 Legends League Cricket, where he is part of the Gujarat Giants team.

Home advantage is a powerful ally in sport and facing hostile away crowds can sometimes lead to the best-laid plans going awry. Sreesanth, however, believes that the visitors will have enough support in Centurion and Cape Town thanks to the vast Indian diaspora that’s present across the globe and has a sizeable presence in South Africa as well.

South Africa has been a tough place for the Indians to tour given the challenge that they face in that part of the world — fast, bouncy pitches combined with the fearsome pace batteries led by Allan Donald, Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada — couldn’t be more different than back in the subcontinent.

But it’s not just the sizeable presence of Indians in the stands that will spur the Indians on. The difference in quality between the two attacks has narrowed considerably to the point where one would actually rate the current Indian attack at par with the South African unit if not slightly higher. The bowling unit led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami had starred in India’s success in Australia as well as in England and alongside Mohammed Siraj, have been in roaring form as a pace triumvirate in recent assignments, including and especially the ODI World Cup.

“Anybody playing at home will have their own advantages. But thanks to the Indians across the globe especially in South Africa. I remember South Africa 2007 World Cup semi-finals and even the final where we didn’t feel as if we were in South Africa because it was a lot of Indians. So now I’m very confident this year, with all the social sites and medias across the globe, there will be more Indians to watch the India-South Africa match than South Africans.

“So I would love to see more Indian flags there and it really helps the team also. So this is the best opportunity. I think the biggest difference is the crowd but it will be slightly better for India. And the conditions there man. It’s not going to be that easy, but their fast bowers we saw during the World Cup also, they’ve got some very good pace attack as well.

“But then Indian team, it’s not just Bumrah, it’s not just Shami, it’s not just Siraj. We have lots of bowlers who are waiting in the wings. Even our India A squad is doing extremely well. I’m very confident that this is the series where India is going to win in South Africa,” Sreesanth, who was part of two South Africa tours, added.

Batting has traditionally been India’s strength over the years and it continues to be the case in the upcoming tour, where India will have the likes of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in their ranks. The difference between the current side and the teams of the past however, is in the bowling unit, especially in the pace department that has allowed them to dream of series victories in nations where winning a Test used to be considered a massive challenge at one point.

Sreesanth, who finished with 169 wickets across formats in an international career that spanned six years (2005-2011), heaped praise on Bharat Arun for the work that he put in during his tenure as bowling coach for revolutionising India’s pace battery.

“Very impressed with the way Bharat Arun sir took up the job. Huge respect to him because he was the bowling coach and the bowlers who are doing extremely well are the bowlers who played under him. So I have to say Bharat Arun sir has done extremely well to see to it that all the fast bowlers take proper rest and they get the opportunity to express themselves. Shami, Bumrah and Siraj, wow man! All the three keeps going number one, number one, number one. It never happened for Indian cricket.”

When asked about the India’s X-factor for the upcoming Test series, however, it wasn’t a bowler’s name that Sreesanth took.

“Virat Kohli. Virat loves to keep proving, rather than to anybody but to himself. I think he’s that cricketer who actually plays with that pride and he takes that pride in a very good way, not in an egoistic way. So pride for me, and for Virat also I’m sure it’s like personal responsibility in delivering excellence. So, I will go with Virat and KL Rahul,” Sreesanth added.

Skipper Rohit might have narrowly missed out on an ICC title in the World Test Championship and more recently in the ODI World Cup, but has the opportunity to cement his legacy as India captain by achieving a feat that has eluded the likes of likes of Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni as well as Kohli — India’s most successful Test captain.

As far as Sreesanth is concerned, Rohit certainly has the qualities that help him stand out as a leader, from being a street-smart cricketer to being there for his teammates as a “brother” and a “best friend”.

“He’s a street-smart cricketer and he’s somebody more like Dhoni bhai who doesn’t just get off the scene straight away. Even if the bowling’s not that great, even if the fielding’s not that great he makes sure he backs up the fielders, he backs up the fielders. It’s a great trend. Even in the World Cup, the players who were not playing he was going to them asking for suggestions.

“Yes he’s the captain but he’s been there as their brother and been there as their best friend. So it’s very important. So I think that’s one of the best qualities a captain can have,” Sreesanth concluded.

India’s tour begins on 10 December with the first of three T20Is, which will then be followed by as many ODIs. As for the Test series, Centurion’s SuperSport Park will host the Boxing Day fixture between 26-30 December while Cape Town’s Newlands is where the New Year’s Test will take place from 3-7 January.