"It is about their mental block" - Indian batsmen need to be positive, says Herschelle Gibbs

Herschelle Gibbs

After a confidence shattering ODI series, the Indian batsmen are low on confidence and according to the former South African opener Herschelle Gibbs, the Indian batsmen need to get out of that mental block before the Test series.

“It is about their mental block and they have three, at most four, day to get out of it.”

Talking to the media, the former Proteas opener said that the Indian batsmen would be put under relentless pressure by the South African pacers with deliveries aimed at their rib cage and the Indians need to prepare themselves to live up to that challenge.

“It is about being ready for short stuff because they are going to get a lot of it. They need to work on it for a while, especially in the build-up to this first Test. I can pretty much assure you that the pitch for the Wanderers’ Test will be pretty similar to the one rolled out for the first ODI” – Gibbs said.

He further said that the Indians need to come out attack the South Africans and should portray a very positive body language.

“It will be a mind game before they set foot on the ground, and they have to be ready for it by being positive and reflecting it from their body language,” he said.

Gibbs also advised the inexperienced Indian batsmen to take their time in the beginning, curb their aggression in early overs on and then play their strokes.

“This Indian batting order is very young and they are naturally aggressive batsmen. In South Africa, you need to be very watchful at start of your innings before you can bring out your strokes. In ODIs, the general norm is 15-20 deliveries. In Tests, it is a little longer,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs even diagnosed the problems of the Indian bowling and had a few words of advice for them too.

“One of my observations about this Indian bowling attack is that they struggle to find the right length early on. By the time it takes for them to get things right, the match or the series, is already beyond them.”

“This is an area where they are struggling, to get their lengths right, to adapt to the conditions here. They need to do so quickly in the Tests because the red Kookaburra ball will do a lot more in these conditions than the white one,” the former opening batsman said.

However, he said that South Africa would be wary of Zaheer Khan, especially the captain, Graeme Smith.

“You know Zaheer has (South African Test captain and opener) Graeme Smith’s number. His return is a massive boost for the Indian bowling and he really could set the tempo with some early breakthroughs. If that happens, it should help build confidence of the Indian bowlers and help lift the batsmen as well. That’s the value of experience and I am sure Zaheer’s return will surely rub off on other players in that squad.”