Du Plessis says he learnt his lessons from 2015 tour
South African captain Faf du Plessis has “learnt” his lessons from the disastrous tour of India four years ago and hopes the team’s young members will emerge as improved cricketers after the current series.
South Africa had no answer to the spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja, losing the four-match series 0-3. Du Plessis himself had a tough time, scoring just 60 runs in seven innings.
“What Test cricket in general do to you is, if there is a flaw in your game, it exposes it. Obviously last time we came here as a batting unit and personally myself found it difficult in tough conditions. The fact is that I needed to get better from a defensive and technical point of view to adapt to play in tough conditions,” Du Plessis said on the eve of the first Test. He is among the five squad members who had toured in 2015. The other four are Kagiso Rabada, Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma and Vernon Philander who played just one Test before getting injured.
“It was tough for everyone, but it was huge value for me. After that I started playing spin better. So I think all players have to go through tough times to make them better and understand where their potential weaknesses are. And then either you can disappear or come back stronger.”
The series against India will be South Africa’s first in the World Test Championship. Following a disappointing World Cup campaign, the team is back on the road and also play England and Australia in the next six months. Du Plessis is looking forward to the challenge.
“It is a good time to be involved with a young team. A lot of senior players are out and leadership group has changed completely. Time to grow new leaders, the next set of pacers, the next Hashim Amla. I am excited about that.”
While they struggled against the spinners last time around and are expected to have a tough time again, du Plessis feels their number one spinner Keshav Maharaj can trouble the high-profile Indian batting.