Indian Test vice-captain KL Rahul, on Friday (December 24), said that the team has not yet had a discussion over who is going to bat for India at No 5 in the first Test that starts in Centurion on January 26.
Speaking to the press on the No 5 conundrum, he said, "It is a very difficult decison to make. Ajinkya has been important part of series, he has played crucial knocks in career. His knock in Melbourne was crucial. That partnership with Pujara was important. He has been a key player for us. Shreyas has obviously taken his chances. He has gotten a hundred in Kanpur and Hanuma has done great for us. We will start having a chat tomorrow and you will get to know."
Rahul also said that coming to South Africa long before the first Test starts has given the team a chance to get to know the conditions better. He said that playing in South Africa is different from other countries. Here, the pitches behave differently from each other.
He said, "I have not played a lot of games here but my exepirience is that sometimes pitches can be challenging because of tennis ball bounce, here it can be little spongy and starts to quicken enough. Last time we were here, each time we played here wicket was different. That becomes a huge challenge for batters and bowlers."
The vice-captain also hinted that India may opt for five bowlers as this strategy abroad has worked for them with the focus on picking 20 wickets in a match.
He said, "Most teams have started playing with four or five bowlers. every team wants to pick up ten wickets. we definitely use that tactic in every Test match we have played."
