“He has got a great batting mind so the young batters coming into the team, he’s the best guy you can learn from”, du Plessis said.
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The guys on the other side of the ring, too, have their reasons to give their all even though it’s just a warm-up tie because they would be aware that one good performance against a strong visiting side can carry them from the fringes to promised land.
For Du Plessis, the split captaincy with Hashim Amla in Tests and AB de Villiers in ODIs is “working beautifully” for the team. “The first warm-up match begins tomorrow so I’m very excited to get out there and hit a few balls”, De Villiers said, before heading into the dressing room with his handy cam, much to the amusement of the rest of his teammates. Du Plessis’ praise suggested Hussey’s involvement could extend beyond the India tour to the World T20, where South Africa will want the likes of Quinton de Kock and David Miller to fire.
Banter has become a more recent talking point in matches between India and South Africa, with the 2010-11 series a match up of motor-mouths. If they have, Hussey, also a left-hand batsman, may be able to help.
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Du Plessis, South Africa’s T20 captain, started his worldwide career as the angry young man Kohli has built his caricature around but is swiftly moving towards the more sage-like sensibility of Dhoni. “But they have some world class players and some individuals within their team, senior players and team management”. The change in location is not going to improve the situation for the DDCA, but some shift in attention is definitely the need of the hour. Especially, the three spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi and Kuldeep Yadav would fancy their chances ahead of the World T20, as none of the spinners save Ravichandran Ashwin is assured of his place in the T20 format. “Furthermore, Rilee Rossouw has been ruled out of the One-Day worldwide (ODI) series following recommendations from Cricket South Africa’s medical committee and will be replaced by Khaya Zondo in the squad”, read the Cricket South Africa website. In India, where he will take on both of them, those complimentary skills could come to the fore.
