IND vs SA | Faf du Plessis' knowledge of Indian conditions will be handy, admits Mark Boucher

03/10/2020

According to South Africa head coach Mark Boucher, former skipper Faf du Plessis' long experience of playing in the IPL and touring India at the international level will come in handy during the upcoming ODI series. The three-match series is scheduled to start on March 12 at Dharamsala.

Since the 2019 World Cup in England, du Plessis has cut a distant figure from the South African limited-overs squad. The veteran batsman had an indifferent T20 series against Australia, with scores of 24, 15, and 5, but Boucher is confident that his experience and presence in the squad will come good on their brief tour of India.

"If you go to a place like India, you need to find a balance between youth and experience. I think Faf is really doing well in ODI cricket for South Africa. The last time he played, he got a hundred. He knows the Indian conditions very well," Boucher told PTI during the team's pre-departure press conference on Sunday.

Boucher admitted that having du Plessis in the mix forces a rethinking of the squad, which is coming off of a comprehensive white-washing of Australia at home. However, as head coach, he knows that du Plessis’ mere experience will be of great value.

"It's a good headache to have. Just him being around the squad will add a lot of value and experience as well. We will look at conditions and then put together combinations. Why you would want to have Faf is because he has done really well in those (Indian) conditions,” he said.

South African cricket has been in turmoil in recent times. But since losing the Test series at home to England earlier this year, the Proteas have shown some fight. They drew the ODI series against England, won a game each during the T20Is against England and Australia, before beating the Aussies 3-0 in the ODIs. Boucher knows that the Indian conditions will be tough for an inexperienced bunch, but the recent results are a source of strength.

"India is going to be a tough test. Different conditions. Lot of guys haven't played a lot of cricket in India as well. What's impressive is that guys have responded to the messages we have sent out to them on batting and bowling perspectives. T20s are important this year given we have the T20 World Cup. But in general, Proteas and Cricket South Africa (CSA), we need to find ourselves growing. We have just beaten a very good team now. We need confidence and it will certainly give us a lot of confidence,” Boucher added.

The Proteas reached India on Monday morning and is scheduled to take a chartered flight to Dharamsala on Tuesday.