This lad can pack a punch, says Fanie de Villiers about an Indian batsman

Former South African cricketer Fanie de Villiers is closely following the ongoing India’s tour of South Africa. He has looked quite impressed with a couple of Indian cricketers and hopes to see the visitors put up tough fights in the matches to follow. During his playing days, Fanie was well known for getting an upper hand in the contests against legendary former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

During the 90s, he had managed to dismiss Tendulkar on quite a few occasions. Revealing the secrets to his success against the master, Fanie de Villiers noted that Sachin never respected the slower deliveries. As per the quotes in News18, Fanie remarked that Sachin often tried to smack the off-cutters out of the park and ended up giving his wicket away.

“Sachin never took my slower balls seriously. By slower balls I mean the off-cutters which would grip on the wickets in the sub-continent and catch the batsmen off guard. Back in the early 90s, only Manoj Prabhakar and I bowled them and Sachin wanted to hit them out of the ground. That is how I managed to dismiss him time and again, be it in Sharjah or in India during the Titan Cup in 1996,” revealed Fanie de Villiers.

On Virat Kohli

Now, there is no Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian team. But a batsman who is living up to the big name is Virat Kohli. When asked about what would have been his plans against Virat, Fanie de Villiers joked that he would rather not bowl to him. He further added that the perfect lines to bowl to Virat is the outside the off-stump channel. It is better or the oppositions to get him out early before he starts dictating the terms.

“Kohli at the crease? I would rather pull my hammy (hamstring muscle) and walk off to the dressing room. This lad can pack a punch and he is a class player. But, if I did have to bowl to him, it would have to be just outside the off-stump as being a swing bowler, I would then bring the slip fielders into play. You have to attack him on the fourth stump and get him to drive away from his body. If you can get him early, good for you because otherwise you will be on a day long leather chase,” said the former cricketer.

On Hardik Pandya

Another player who impressed Fanie de Villiers is Hardik Pandya. In the Cape Town Test, Hardik played a gutsy knock in the first innings to help team India be in the hunt. Commenting on Hardik, Fanie looked satisfied with his batting. However, he feels that Hardik has to work a lot on his bowling. He hopes that Hardik gets proper guidance from former cricketers on how to bowl, and which lines to bowl.

“He is a warrior and a good batsman coming lower down the order. But Pandya needs to work on his bowling quite a bit. He still has some way to go before he can be called an international level bowler. The wrist action is something that needs to be taken care of and he needs to be guided by a former pacer who knows the tricks of the trade. He has the talent and now needs proper guidance,” Fanie noted.

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