Ahead of Boxing Day Test against South Africa, captain Rohit Sharma lauds Indian quicks: ‘Our seamers have earned that respect’ | Cricket News

It was almost inevitable that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was asked of his seam attack. His Proteas counterpart Temba Bavuma had some big words for the Indian quicks the other day.
When asked if Mohammed Shami’s absence handed any advantage to South Africa in the two-match series, Bavuma stated, “India being India, and with the depth that they have, you have to trust that whoever comes in will also put you under pressure.”
Pretty big, coming from the opposition captain but Rohit Sharma believes his quicks have “earned that respect”.
“Not just few years, the last five-seven years. We’ve done pretty well in Australia, in England and even South Africa. The seamers have pulled their weight in,” the 36-year-old said in the pre-match press conference.
“Yes, Shami will be a big miss. Obviously, his experience, what he has done for our team over the years, it will be missed. It won’t be easy, but we have trust in the guys who are here,” he added.

It’s no coincidence that the Indian fast bowlers have the topic of discussion ahead of the Test series in South Africa. One might trace back to the 2018 series to point fingers at a pivotal moment in the country’s pace ball revolution.
It marked the debut of Jasprit Bumrah, who now spearheads the attack, in the longest format of the game. The 63-run win in Johannesburg teased how India would claim nine Tests in SENA countries over the next six years.
The numbers have been quite something. Since January 2018, the Indian pacers have nabbed more wickets away from home than any other pace attack – 396 from 212 innings. England, who are second in the tally, have 78 fewer scalps in three more innings.
Who’ll be the third pacer?
In the absence of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj become the first choice pacers for India.
The pertinent question however, is who will accompany them as the third pacer. Mukesh Kumar or Prasidh Krishna? “It is a very tough call for us to pick between the two. We have to see what the team needs and how the pitch behaves. They are different bowlers and we are going to have a discussion about the same,” Rohit mulled a day ahead of the Test match in Centurion.

While Mukesh Kumar already has a Test match under his belt, Prasidh Krishna is yet to make an appearance for India in the longest format. What may help the latter is the extra inches in his stature that lend him the advantage of extracting extra bounce off the pitch, more margin for error with his length and the best chance of juicing life from the surface.