Former South African captain AB de Villiers has backed India to bounce back strongly after a 0-2 series drubbing against the Proteas. India lost the second Test match by a mammoth margin of 408 runs at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, on Wednesday.
AB said there is no dearth of talent in India and there is no need to hit the panic buttons. India has lost five out of the last seven Test matches at home and they haven’t been able to tick the right boxes.
The hosts could not deliver with the bat, breaching the 200-run mark on a solitary occasion in the series against South Africa.
“I know it’s painful now, but when I look at the setup of Indian cricket in all formats, I don’t think there’s much to worry about. They might have to find their identity a little bit, because there have been a lot of changes of late. I expect to see that kind of fight on the field. I don’t think there’s any need for panic. They’ve got lots of talent, plenty of options, and different combinations they can use moving forward,” said De Villiers on Ravichandran Ashwin’s YouTube channel.
“It will be refreshing for them to go into the ODI and T20I series now, as I think things will be a lot harder for South Africa there, but there’s no need to panic yet. Obviously, this will hurt for a while—and so it should—but it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road. There’s plenty of talent in Indian cricket,” he added.
On the other hand, the former RCB batter reckons Indian batters are struggling mentally than technically in Test cricket.
“I don’t think it’s technical. Indian players have always been the best players against spin. I don’t think that all of a sudden they have to reverse sweep or sweep to prove they are still the best. You don’t have to change much. It’s more about belief and a bit of self-confidence. I think it’s a mental approach more than anything else,” said De Villiers.
India will next take on South Africa in a three-match ODI series, starting Sunday.
