India’s tour of SA weakened by under-strength squads

They have listed various reasons for the decision, but SA and India have been a little cheeky in naming their limited overs squads for their upcoming cricket tour of South Africa.

Both countries played really well at the recent one-day World Cup, but neither lifted the trophy, and the three-match T20 series starting this weekend (as well as the following three-match ODI campaign) gives each side a chance to save some face by bouncing back from their ultimate failures at the global showpiece.

The white-ball campaign could also be useful in keeping the public interest in the sport going by capitalising on the momentum gained at the World Cup.

Nonetheless, both nations have omitted key players for the white-ball portion of the tour, which starts in Durban on Sunday.

The Proteas will be without the likes of regular ODI captain Temba Bavuma, all-rounder Marco Jansen, and fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee and Lungi Ngidi for most of the limited overs fixtures.

Those players will instead participate in a round of domestic four-day matches in preparation for the Boxing Day and New Year Tests.

India, meanwhile, announced last week that they would field three different captains on tour, with regular skipper Rohit Sharma and veteran Virat Kohli being rested for the white-ball matches.

‘Fresh energy’

Proteas limited overs coach Rob Walter said on Monday the players were mentally and emotionally drained after the World Cup, and he felt it would help to have some “fresh energy” in the squad.

Shukri Conrad, coach of the Test squad, also believed it was important for some senior players to get a first-class game under their belts at domestic level, after focussing entirely on the limited overs formats in recent months.

White-ball cricket, however, is the life of the sport, whether purists of the game like it or not, and as much as SA and India might want to get their ICC Test Championship campaign off to a good start, fans will want to watch full-strength teams in the limited overs fixtures of their tour.

Any series between India and South Africa is always eagerly anticipated, and supporters deserve to watch the best each nation has to offer.