MUMBAI: After winning the T20 and the limited overs series against India at their home soil, the proteas will now be looking to cinch the upcoming four match Test series to make it a clean sweep of the tour. However, the safaris will be worried of the out of the from Hashim Amla, also the Test skipper for South Africa.
The 32-year old Hashim Amla, ranking third in the ICC Test rankings has been one of the key players for South Africa to decide the fate of the match until he had lost his form, since the start of the tour against India.
The South African Test captain had managed only a meager 128 runs in his last eight outings in the limited overs. It may be recalled that Amla has scored a massive 490 runs with an highest individual score of 253 at Nagpur, during the tour of South Africa to India in 2010.
In complete contrast to his form in 2010, the opener has been struggling with his form by just scoring 1 run against the Board President XI, a practice match organized by the BCCI before the start of the Test series.
South African coach Russel Domingo admitted that South Africa are worried of its skipper’s form. However, he stayed positive with the thundering form of AB de villiers who scored a hundred in the practice match at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai.
“Yes, we are a bit worried of the out of form Hashim Amla, he is the one who can make a difference in the matches against India. I am confident that he would come hard in the upcoming test series”, coach Domingo said.
“There are other Batsmen who can fill the gap even if Amla fails to fire in an innings. Definitely, AB will be the backbone of the South African innings at Mohali”, he added. Domingo praised the limited overs captain for his talent and dedication on the sport, the Times of India reports.
The coach said that they are yet to decide over the player combinations for the first Test, adding that they will pick the final eleven after having a look at the nature of the pitch, which Domingo feels might not assist turn to spinners.
