Michael Holding: “I am very surprised that Bhuvneshwar was dropped after what he did in Cape Town, but I am just as surprised that Rahane was not played”

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Legendary West Indies seamer Michael Holding has admitted that he was surprised by India captain Virat Kohli’s decision to drop pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar and overlook batsman Ajinkya Rahane for the second Test against South Africa in Centurion.

Kohli instead opted to stick with batsman Rohit Sharma and call up seamer Ishant Sharma, even though Kumar took six wickets and made scores of 25 and 13 in the first Test in Cape Town, which India lost by 72 runs.

Speaking to CricketNext after the second Test, which India lost by 135 runs, Holding delved deeper into why Kohli’s decision to leave Kumar and Rahane out of the playing XI shocked him.

“I am very surprised that Bhuvneshwar was dropped after what he did in Cape Town, but I am just as surprised that Rahane was not played,” Holding said. “His record overseas is better than most. I don’t know enough about Rohit Sharma (to get into the debate on whether he should be playing in place of Rahane) and some of the other guys.

“See, I only see India play Test cricket when they come to England and then in South Africa. That is why it will not be fair for me to comment much on other people.

“And to be honest, what I have seen of Rahane, he seems to me to be a very good player. I was just surprised to not see him in the XI and the same thing with Bhuvneshwar. I think he is a very good bowler and I was surprised that he was not in the XI.”

The 63-year-old also pointed out that while he believes India’s bowling line-up is capable of taking 20 wickets, he has concerns about the batting line-up and their ability to shine in foreign conditions.

“The Indians have the bowling to pick 20 wickets and win Test matches. And I am saying that from the very first Test match in Cape Town,” he said. “I have no problem with the Indian bowling, but will the batsmen put runs on the board? From the very first day in Cape Town, I have been saying that. It is up to the batsmen to get the runs on the board and then the bowlers will do their job.”

When asked about Ishant, who took five wickets in the second Test, Holding admitted that he is no longer the spearhead of the pace attack.

“Ishant, if you remember, what was this? His 80th Test match? He used to do it (lead the pack) in his younger days,” he said. “He will not run through sides for the entire career. It is time for the younger guys to come up and pick up the slab, be the frontline bowler and allow him to be the support bowler.”

Lungi Ngidi finished with figures of 6-39 in the second innings

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As for South Africa debutant Lungi Ngidi, who claimed seven wickets in the match, six of which came in the second innings, Holding said: “As far as his strengths are concerned, I think he has a nice economical action and he doesn’t seem to take a lot out on himself.

“He is very smooth and I think anyone with that sort of a run-up and action and smoothness and obviously uniformity of the action because you here so much about the action repeating itself.

“He does seem to have an action that repeats itself and that should give him longevity. He is a strong guy and he has control, so those are big positives to have.”

Holding believes the turning point in the second Test was when South Africa batsman AB de Villiers struck a brilliant 80 in the Proteas’ second innings and rescued his side from a precarious position.

“With AB de Villiers in the team, six batsmen and five bowlers give it the balance,” he added. “AB makes a huge difference. He will make a huge difference in any team. And with him in the team, they have the confidence of the batsmen doing a good job.”

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has already made it clear that he wants his side to show no mercy even though they already hold an unassailable 2-0 series lead, but Holding feels that former West Indies pace bowler and current Proteas coach Ottis Gibson is responsible for the more aggressive mindset and approach South Africa have shown.

“Well I have not seen the 5 Test matches that Ottis Gibson has been in charge of, so I can’t really speak of any noticeable change,” he said. “What I have seen is a lot more aggression as far as the team selection is concerned. And I would assume that Gibson being a West Indian and a former fast bowler might be a reason for that (smiles). But apart from that, just looking on the field, it is hard to see that there has been much change.

“If you have four good fast bowlers, you should play them. Our philosophy that made us successful was that we picked the best bowlers and all four were fast bowlers. Gibson has picked four very good fast bowlers, but he has also picked a spinner and I think Keshav Maharaj is a very good bowler.

“He feels he has the batting to win Test matches with five bowlers and there is nothing wrong in that because at times you will need a spinner. You don’t want to pick a spinner just for the sake of saying that you have a spinner and the so-called balance of the team. But yes, Maharaj is a good spinner and then there are four good fast bowlers, so pick them.”