In The land of Opportunity

In fact,it all started with Allan Donald bursting onto the international cricket scene with his raw hostility and pace during South Africa’s first tour after readmission. Ever since,the Proteas have always arrived in India with a number of surprise packages. More often than not,these lesser-known faces have ended up hogging the spotlight.

And while the squad for the two-Test series does include Jacques Kallis — visiting for the fourth time — the seasoned Mark Boucher and Graeme Smith,the likes of Lonwabo Tsotsobe,Ryan McLaren,Wayne Parnell and Alviro Petersen will also be aiming to create a stir on their first outing in India.

The Indian Express takes a look at the relatively unknown faces in the South African Test squad:

Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Left-arm fast medium

Tests: yet to make debut; ODIs: 6 wickets in 3 matches.

Not many left-arm pace bowlers from South Africa have enjoyed a successful run. Lonwabo Tsotsobe,though,has made all the right noises at the first-class level so far. What the youngster — presently with the Warriors — lacks in pace,he makes up with movement in the air and accuracy off the wicket.

Though the South Africans place emphasis on speed when it comes to Test selection,Tsotsobe has made it difficult for them to ignore him,raking up an impressive first-class record of 156 wickets at 22 (the expressly quick Brett Schultz averaged 24.40 in his first-class career). Tsotsobe made an immediate impact after being handed his first national cap,picking up figures of four for 50 against Australia at Perth on his ODI debut.

Ryan McLaren

Right-arm fast medium/ right-handed batsman

Tests: one against England; ODIs: 5 matches so far

Ryan McLaren has all the attributes to be a successful all-rounder. He is tall,hits the wicket hard on the seam and also whacks the cricket ball a fair distance while batting. More in the Klusener mould,McLaren has been a regular performer for Kent in county cricket.

McLaren,who was part of the Mumbai Indians squad during IPL2,also made a decent impression on his Test debut against England last month,picking up the important wicket of Paul Collingwood and scoring 33 crucial runs as South Africa leveled the series at Johannesburg.

Alviro Petersen

Right-handed opening batsman

Tests: yet to make debut; ODIs: averages 48.85 with the bat in 10 matches

A genuine opening batsman who has batted only once at the top of the order for South Africa in his 10 ODIs,Alviro Petersen has been around the domestic circuit for close to 10 years now. Though not quite a journeyman,Petersen has already represented quite a few domestic sides back home and has hit form in patches,averaging 37.39 in 89 first-class games. He has also made the most of his intermittent chances in the 50-over format,and with Ashwell Prince’s abysmal failure as opener against England,Petersen may well get a look-in in one of the two Tests at the expense of a middle-order batsman.

Wayne Parnell

Left-arm fast medium/left-handed batsman

Tests: one against England; ODIs: 22 wickets at 21 in nine matches

Wayne Parnell has managed to make an exceedingly good first impression on most people who have seen him play. All of 20,the youngster’s rise to fame began in the Under-19 World Cup two years back and he hasn’t stopped ever since. Parnell — the youngest South African player to be handed a central contract — has already created a stir in limited-overs cricket and after a nervous start in the first innings of his debut Test at Johannesburg,Parnell returned to take the crucial scalps of Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen in the second innings.

With a weighty IPL contract in tow,Parnell will look to make a big impact with both bat and ball in the next two weeks.

Johan Botha and JP Duminy

Off-spinner and left-handed middle-order batsman respectively

Though one has already captained his country in ODI cricket and the other been touted as the next big thing in international cricket,both Botha and Duminy have never been on a Test tour of India before. While Botha,not generally considered a longer format bowler,will compete with Paul Harris for the spinner’s slot,Duminy will look to regain the form with which he took world cricket by storm last year.