‘There is no such thing as a weak Indian team’ – Reeza Hendricks

Proteas top order batter Reeza Hendricks insists there is no such thing as a weak Indian cricket team, as the hosts prepare to welcome the under-strength visitors for their four game T20 series, getting under way in Durban on Friday night.

The two sides clashed in the T20 World Cup final in the Caribbean in June, with India emerging with a tight seven run win over the Proteas to lift the trophy.

However just four players from that World Cup winning group, namely captain Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Panday, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh have been included in the squad for the series against the Proteas, with the other players preparing for their Test series against Australia.

Despite that, Hendricks claimed that the team are well aware of the danger that India’s fringe players will bring, due to their depth and pedigree.

“We have seen all of the names coming through from the IPL. So there is no such thing as a weak Indian team,” admitted Hendricks.

“They keep producing a lot of (quality) players and their depth is massive. So it will be a challenging and exciting series to be a part of, and I am sure there will be some good cricket on display.

“It is always exciting to play against them, so it is going to be a challenging series. We are looking forward to it and hopefully we can start well on Friday.”

Proteas squad

The Proteas themselves will be missing four players from their strong World Cup campaign, with Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje and Quinton de Kock not selected.

But they do welcome back some star players that missed their last two T20I series against the West Indies and Ireland, with Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee back in the mix, and Hendricks says that will give the team a timely boost.

“It is always exciting to have them back. World class players coming into the squad obviously boosts the morale amongst the players and gets guys excited. So it is good to have some big names back and we are looking forward to the series,” said Hendricks.

With some gloomy weather expected for Durban on Friday, Hendricks added that he hoped the rain would stay away: “There has been a couple of days of rain. But hopefully the weather stays the way it is (now) and we have a full game come Friday.”