25 December,2023 04:23 PM IST | Centurion | mid-day online correspondent
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (Pic: AFP)
India captain Rohit Sharma on Monday said, as a leader, he wants his team to 'achieve' what others Indian side's in the past have failed to do in South Africa.
Since their first SA vs IND Test series in South Africa in 1992, India have never achieved success there. India will play South Africa in the the first of the two Tests starting on Tuesday.
"Want to achieve what nobody has achieved in this part of the world," Rohit said during the pre-match press conference.
Rohit also did not want to speak about his cricketing future, just saying that he wants to enjoy the game. "I want to play whatever cricket is there in front of me," he said without elaborating his plans.
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KL Rahul is expected to keep wickets in the first Test but the skipper said it will be is up to wicketkeeper-batter to decide how long he wants to don the gloves in the five-day format.
"I am not sure how long KL Rahul would want to keep wickets but he is keen as of now," said Rohit.
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India's World Cup hero, Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the series with an ankle injury and Rohit termed the speedster's absence as a big loss.
"Shami will be a big miss for what he has done for us over the years. Someone will fill up (the) hole but it won't be easy," he said.
Captain Rohit will have an onerous task of traversing a difficult terrain in order to conquer what has always been dubbed the team's 'final frontier'. However, for the SA vs IND Test series action to start at Supersport Park, the heavy rains predicted on the first two days need to subside.
The Centurion track offers variable bounce and is one of the fastest in the region. And that makes up for a compelling contest between bat and ball in relatively cooler and windy conditions in an open ground where it can jag around a bit.
In the last 50 over World Cup, skipper Rohit, at best would have emulated Kapil Dev and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but if he and his men manage to pull off a coup in this country, he would stand first among the equals.
(With agency inputs)
