Ryan Rickelton says the Proteas are determined to prove their critics wrong when they face India in a two-Test series starting on Friday.
The batsman believes that even winning one Test on Indian soil would be a significant achievement, especially after suggestions that the Proteas had an “easy” path to winning the World Test Championship last cycle.
Before South Africa beat Australia at Lord’s in June to lift the WTC title, critics argued they benefited from not facing India, Australia or England during the campaign. Some also pointed out that their only subcontinent experience came against Bangladesh, where they won 2-0.
This time, the Proteas have two consecutive subcontinent tours – they drew 1-1 with Pakistan recently and now turn their attention to India, with Tests in Kolkata and Guwahati. They will also tour Sri Lanka before hosting Australia and England at home later in the cycle.
In an interview with SportsBoom.co.za, Rickelton said the players were aware of the outside noise but focused on performing well in India.
“I’ve been reading a lot of the articles saying about the last cycle that we didn’t have any subcontinent tours or we didn’t have an India or Pakistan subcontinent tour,” he said. “So, the target is always going to be on our back about it, especially how we handle ourselves in Pakistan and India.
“Obviously, this will be a different and probably more emphasis on this [India] tour, considering we managed to win one in Pakistan. So, I think there will always be a bit of a target on our backs, and there will always be people saying that we had an easy last cycle.
“If we can win a Test match in India and walk away with 1-1 or ideally aiming for 2-0 … India are also allowed to play well, especially in their backyard. That’s a great start to our sub-tour, and we’ve only got incoming Test matches after that.
“So, from a Test team point of view, if we can grab a win away – obviously, ideally two – but if we can get one and come back home and make sure we win our home games, I think we’ve done ourselves justice and played relatively well within the subcontinent.”
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