South Africa will face India in the first of two Tests starting in Kolkata on Friday.
It’s unsurprising that Proteas team management have placed so much emphasis on the two-match Test series against India starting later this week.
Despite the T20 World Cup being held early next year, a second-string squad was fielded in the recent limited overs tour of Pakistan, with senior players being rested for the Test series against India.
But if the Proteas can walk away with two wins in what is going to be a tough campaign against India, they will put themselves in a strong position in the early stages of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
They’ve already played two games against Pakistan, away from home last month, losing the first fixture and winning the second (placing them tied fourth in the overall table).
Looking ahead
After the upcoming series against India, the Proteas will have four more assignments in the WTC cycle. They face Australia, Bangladesh and England at home next year, and Sri Lanka away in 2027.
However, their tours against lower-ranked teams Bangladesh and Sri Lanka consist of only two games each, while their series against Australia and England (the top-ranked teams in Test cricket) consist of three matches.
The way the WTC works is that teams are ranked based on percentage of victories. And if they can win both games against India, they are going to take some pressure off, ensuring they can slip up against Australia or England and still qualify for the playoff.
If they are handed a 2-0 defeat against India, they will have to dig deep against those higher-ranked teams.
India will be at home, giving them a significant advantage, and they are in desperate need of wins, which makes them even more dangerous.
Having already played seven matches in the WTC cycle, the Indians are lying third in the standings, and with only two more games to play against Sri Lanka, they cannot afford to lose this series.