South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma said that he felt jealous watching the Ashes series between England and Australia on Friday, wondering why the reigning WTC champions have to do with playing just a 2-match series against India. The skipper added that such brief Test series hardly does justice to the talents of both teams.
“We woke up this morning to watch the Ashes. We watched with a bit of jealousy, knowing that they were playing five Tests. They’ll be going at each other. Hopefully, not too far in the future, but more in the near future, we’ll go back to play four tests against India,” Bavuma said on Friday.
“Players are not involved when it comes to mapping out the schedule. I think every of our players who have had the opportunity to interact with the media, have had that question in front of them. They have voiced out their frustration,” the Proteas skipper added.
It maybe mentioned here that the number of Tests in a series is directly proportional to financial health of a cricket nation which is why the Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India vs Australia) and the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy (India vs England) are five-match series because of their commercial viability.
“Look, however way the series goes, 1-1, 2-0, it would be nice for a three-Test series against a formidable team like India. And it’s just good for the fans, really, when people get to see good cricket, one team dominating, another team dominating. But there also being an opportunity for one team to come out as victors,” Bavuma said.
The Proteas captain who led them to their first Test win in India after 15 years in Kolkata last week, also explained how the Guwahati pitch was different from the one doled out at the Eden.
“This wicket looks a lot fresher and will be more consistent in terms of variability compared to Kolkata. We will have another look in the morning and decide on Kagiso’s replacement. This is a typical sub-continental wicket with the first two days good for batting before spinners come into play,” he said.
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