Debasis Sen, Cape Town: The Indian cricket team arrived in Cape Town on Thursday night for the 60 days long tour to South Africa. Virat Kohli and his team will play three test matches, six ODI’s and three T20I’s in the rainbow nation, with the first test starting in Newlands Stadium from January 05,2018. The Indian players were seen checking in at the Hotel Cullinan around 10:30pm. Most of the cricketers were accompanied by their wives.The captain was accompanied by his actress wife Anushka Sharma. Virushka got married in Italy on December 11 and held wedding receptions in New Delhi (December 21) and Mumbai (December 26).
The Indian cricketers arrived from Johannesburg via Dubai in batches. Rohit Sharma was the first to check in with his wife Ritika along with fast bowlers Avesh Khan and Ankit Rajput. The Indian team is accompanied by four fast bowlers who have been flown in to give practice to the batsmen. The four pacers are Mohammed Siraj of Hyderabad, Avesh Khan of Madhya Pradesh, Ankit Rajput of Uttar Pradesh and Basil Thampi of Kerala.
Indian captain Kohli exuded confidence in his team to do well in his pre-departure press conference in Mumbai. According to Kohli, “We as a team are feeling very confident, in terms of the balance the side has and the kind of cricket we’ve been playing. Of course, we haven’t played in (overseas) conditions, apart from the ICC Champions Trophy (in England). Every tour is a chance.”
Team India coach Ravi Shastri backed the team saying that the next 18 months can define the team. “They have been together for the last four-five years and that experience will stand them in good stead, that’s for sure. The conditions will be testing, but this one-and-a-half years will define this Indian cricket team, and the whole team is aware of that. With tours of South Africa, Australia and England coming up in the next year-and-a-half, all I can say is this will be a better cricket team after those 18 months.”
Click on the link below to watch the Indian cricketers arriving at Cape Town: