Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes has openly spoken about the difference between the current generation and the previous generation of Indian players. He said that earlier there were only a few batsmen who were comfortable playing outside India, but now, due to the IPL, they have got a lot of exposure.
Jonty Rhodes’ comments came during an interaction with RevSportz. He believes the IPL has allowed India to have batting depth and given them excellent fast bowlers. He admitted that when India used to tour South Africa early, they used to prepare green studs because the Men in Blue depended on only one or two pacers.
Jonty Rhodes, while talking about the current generation of Indian players, said that SENA countries preparing the green track fail because Indian pacers can defeat the opposition with ease. He elaborated:
“In my generation, there were two or three batsmen who were comfortable outside India. Now, given the exposure they are getting against the pace, during the IPL, I think their batting depth is really strong. And the pace of the bowling.
“If India came to South Africa, we would prepare a green wicket because India depended on maybe one seamer, maximum two. Now, if you prepare a green, sporting surface for Test cricket, India has the pace bowling to knock you off your feet.”
It is fair to say that India, since the inception of the IPL, has become a dominant force in world cricket. Before they had to fight a lot abroad. But now things are different, they have gone toe to toe with the opposition and even won series outside India.
Fast bowlers in particular are the main reason behind India’s success in Tests. They take 20 wickets in almost every game, which has helped the team to be in a dominant position and win.
India now ticks all the boxes – Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes further added that MS Dhoni made a big difference for Indian cricket. He highlighted that earlier India used to have problems with fitness, but now the entire culture has changed and they have ticked all the boxes. He also highly praised Virat Kohli. explained:
“And they have the batting to be able to beat you. So I think as a whole team, we certainly saw with MS Dhoni that it made a big difference with the powerplay from him. Between the wickets, he was phenomenal. Behind the stumps, he never made a mistake because of his form.
“And Kohli took that to the next level. The players were left out because they could not pass a physical fitness test. India now ticks all the boxes. Before, you could say we were 10 or 15 races better in the field. Now that is no longer the case.”
The Indian cricket team will be seen in action next this month. They will tour South Africa for three-match ODI and T20I series along with two-Test series. BCCI has named the team for the series and has given opportunities to quite a few youngsters in all three formats.
The tour of South Africa will begin with a three-match T20I series, which will be played from December 10 to December 14. After that, the action will move towards the ODI series, scheduled to take place. from December 17 to December 21. The test series will be played. from December 26 to January 7.