Despite extra attention to bowling, the main man not part of the Indian Test squad

The upcoming tour of South Africa will be a challenging one as the Indian team has never succeeded in winning a Test series in the rainbow nation. Coming off a comprehensive series victory against Sri Lanka across every format, the Men in Blue will aim to carry forward the momentum and repeat the success in the foreign soil as well. However, a recurring problem is the fast and bouncy pitches that the country present.

With all the extra attention given to the bowling setup, it is surprising that India’s bowling consultant Zaheer Khan didn’t travel with the team. The day Ravi Shastri was appointed India coach, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also announced Zaheer Khan as a bowling consultant while Rahul Dravid was bestowed with the role of an overseas batting consultant. Later, the BCCI clarified that Zaheer would be overseas bowling consultant on a tour-to-tour basis.

However, according to latest developments, even the members of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) failed to provide any information on Zaheer’s status, and whether or not he would be travelling to the rainbow nation.

India boasts of a balanced bowling attack

India’s bowling department hasn’t been this varied for a long time. Not only do they have a settled pace core in Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar but they also have the likes of Ishant Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya jostling for a berth, not to forget the talented Jasprit Bumrah who could spring a surprise if selected.

Not normally does the Indian cricket team carry a separate coterie of bowlers just to give their batsman adequate net practice. A tour of South Africa, where India has never won a Test series, however, demands that extra initiative. This trip witnessed the addition of extra pacers in the squad giving a dream chance to the likes of Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Basil Thampi and Mohammed Siraj.

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