South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma feels India will be dishing out rank-turners when they tour the country next month for a two-match Test series although India have been inclined towards playing on sporting wickets under new captain Shubman Gill.
India have traditionally and historically relied on spin to destroy opposition batting attacks and clinch home Test series wins but Gill has indicated that he wants the team to play on tracks that offer something for both the batters and bowlers.
The Temba Bavuma-led side will take on India in two Tests, the first of which will be played in Kolkata from November 14-18 and the second Test in Guwahati from November 22-26.
"In terms of the surfaces in India, (they are) spinner-friendly. We won't be in shock if we get to India and we're playing on spinner-friendly wickets," Bavuma told the media during the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards.
"Generally, teams now are always using their conditions to their favour, especially with the World Test Championship cycle and the way that it's been set up, so we won't be surprised from that point of view," he said.
Bavuma also felt the success of spin for South Africa would depend on how well their spinners bowl in Indian conditions.
"From my experience, there always seems to be a difference between the way Indian spinners bowl in their own conditions versus spinners outside of India. "There's always that challenge of foreign spinners adjusting to the conditions. They're either bowling quicker in these conditions (or) bowling flatter," he said.
Bavuma agreed that the South Africans turned a corner when they won the World Test Championship (WTC) title and it might just be the beginning of them winning more global titles.
"Yeah, the confidence is definitely sky high. For me, that's been a part of my legacy. As a captain, it's great to be part of a winning team and part of a team is clinching ICC events. We've come close in the past and all that heartache has only pushed us to work really hard. With this win of ours, it has pushed us to go for wins in ICC events. When the T20 World Cup comes around next year, the guys will be going full throttle to do what we have just done again," he added.
"I heard Kane Williamson is going to be here" - Temba Bavuma
The SA skipper felt that he was going to draw a lot of inspiration from New Zealand's epic 3-0 whitewash of India in 2024.
"Touring India is never an easy one. Looking at the way New Zealand went about their business, (it) was inspiring in a lot of ways. A lot of away teams come to India and haven't been successful," he said.
"I heard Kane Williamson is going to be here. I'll definitely be asking him for tips on how they went about it," he said before the awards ceremony," Bavuma added.
"Touring India is never an easy one. Looking at the way New Zealand went about their business, (it) was inspiring in a lot of ways. A lot of away teams come to India and haven't been successful," he said.
"I heard Kane Williamson is going to be here. I'll definitely be asking him for tips on how they went about it," he said before the awards ceremony.
Bavuma stated that it is now the Gill era in Indian cricket and they have to move on from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have already done their part.
"It seems as if the new era has kicked in, if I could say. (The) guys like Rohit, (and) before him, Kohli, they've done their job. They put India really on their mat and they've made India a team to really be feared."
"I'm sure India will continue to dominate. Our job as South Africa is to not allow them to dominate as much..."
The retirement reversal of Quinton De Kock has become a talking point and Bavuma was of the opinion that the former will have to now earn his spot in the team.
"I'm quite a little bit biased when it comes to Quinton. I grew up playing with Quinton from school cricket," he said.
"That he's back again, I'm as excited as a lot of fans out there. (But) there's quite a lot of young batters who have put up their name so he's obviously going to have to do what he needs to do from a run scoring point of view."
