With coronavirus in the news and the rain clouds in attendance, cricketers from India and South Africa chose to take it easy on the eve of the first ODI here.
Ahead of Thursday’s clash Indians had an “optional session” on the ground and the South Africans opted for a brief feel of the “nets” in the stadium complex before it rained heavily.
Skipper Quinton de Kock underlined the importance of the presence of his predecessor Faf de Plesis, back in the team after a break against the visiting Australians.
“He plays a big, big role for us from a leadership point of view. I think he is here to help a lot of the younger guys in our team. And he also knows that he has a lot of value to give in this team. So it’s still great to him around,” said de Kock.
1st ODI preview | India far from an obvious favourite
Acknowledging the team’s bowling lacked experience, the skipper said, “Obviously we understand that we have come here with quite an inexperienced (bowling) side in these conditions but obviously it’s important for guys like Faf, me, David Miller to help out these guys around.”
Describing India as an “unbelievable team” de Kock said, “they got great bowlers, great batsman. But I’m sure we’ve also come in here with a lot of confidence and I’m sure we’ll have a good series, anyway.”
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, back after undergoing a sports hernia surgery in London in January, was quick to underline the importance of winning this series for the host.
“Every international match is important and we (players) know how people react when we lose, like we saw against New Zealand. Individually, too, triumphs impact the self-belief of the performers” said the soft-spoken medium pacer.
Saliva on ball
Both de Kock and Bhuvneshwar were asked about the pacers using saliva on the ball in these days of coronavirus.
In response, de Kock said, “Our team doctors and management have made sure all are fit and don’t have coronavirus. So we’ll attend to that to still keep the ball shining.”
Bhuvneshwar wasn’t as sure. “Right now, I can’t say. But if we don’t use saliva and get hit, then you people (from the media) will say you didn’t bowl well. In any case, we’ll follow our doctor’s advice in dealing with coronavirus.”
