Indian skipper Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma feels that the batter will be back in his original form in the Test series against South Africa. The Indian team will lock horns against South Africa in the 'Boxing Day' Test match as the three-match Test series kick starts in Centurion. "Last time Virat played an amazing innings in the Centurion and I hope he will play that once again. All his fans are eagerly waiting to see him perform just like before. He is a mature person. He has been captaining for a long time now and he is passionate about team India's performance. This time the fans will get to see the original Virat back in form," Rajkumar Sharma told ANI.
"It will be a tough call for team India that should be included in the Playing XI among Rahane, Pujara and Iyer. Iyer secured his place in the team after he scored his century, as this will bring a lot of pressure on the senior players. But it will be interesting to see that with what combination will Team India go," he added.
Rajkumar also said that Team India holds a strong chance of winning this series as they have a balanced bowling and batting line-up.
"Team India have a strong chance to win this series. India never won any series in South Africa earlier and they themselves are a very strong team, especially their fast bowling line-up. It is going to be a tough competition but I still think that India can win," said Rajkumar.
"India's bowling unit is also strong and they are capable of scalping all the 20 wickets. The bowling lineup of Bumrah, Siraj and Shami is extremely powerful. The way Siraj has performed and secured his place in the team is really commendable. He is very passionate and enthusiastic," he added.
The Test series between India and South Africa will form part of the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. The updated schedule is as follows: First Test will take place from December 26-30 at the SuperSport Park, Centurion; Second Test will take place from January 3-7, 2022, at the Wanderers, Johannesburg; Third Test will take place from January 11-15, 2022, at the Newlands, Cape Town.