Mohammed Shami’s replacement can also put South Africa under pressure: Temba Bavuma 

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma has hailed India’s talent pool and stated that while the visitors will miss the services of Mohammed Shami, his replacement could also put the hosts under pressure.

Seasoned pacer Shami has been ruled out of the two-match Test series that starts on Tuesday, December 26 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion due to a heel injury. Either Prasidh Krishna or Mukesh Kumar could replace Shami in the playing XI.

At a pre-match press conference, Bavuma was asked about the impact of Shami’s absence on the series. He said while responding to a PTI query:

“As cricketers you want to come up against the best and Mohammed Shami is one of the best going around and most of us would be looking forward to coming up against him. But India being India, and with the depth that they have, you have to trust that whoever comes in will also put you under pressure.”

Bavuma added that while the Proteas will have the home advantage, India remain strong in Shami’s absence, stating that their success over the last 10 years is proof of the same.

“Being home conditions, we understand the advantage our side has, you will expect us to adapt a lot better and Indian bowling attack is quite a strong one and obviously Shami is not there but it’s still a strong one. The fact that they have been able to achieve so much success in Tests over the past 5-10 years period is because of that bowling attack,” the 33-year-old commented.

Earlier, India and South Africa tied the T20I series 1-1, while the Men in Blue won the three-match ODI series 2-1.

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“We are still trying to see how it looks like” - Bavuma on South Africa’s brand of cricket

The South African cricket team has never lost a home Test series to India and Bavuma would want to keep that record intact.

He, however, admitted that facing the Indian side will be a different challenge and also added that the Proteas are still working on the brand of cricket they want to play.

“We understand playing India comes with challenges as there are more eyeballs involved. South Africa recently played an attractive brand of ODI cricket during the World Cup. In terms of brand, there has definitely been talk about it, not just now but also during the West Indies series. We are still trying to see how it looks like.”

After the Centurion Test, India and South Africa will meet in the New Year Test at Newlands in Cape Town from January 3 to 7.