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India’s assistant coach has sent a stern message ahead of the first Test in Eden Gardens (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)
India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has set the tone ahead of the upcoming Test series against South Africa, describing it as a key step in India’s bid to reach next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Ten Doeschate praised the Proteas for their recent consistency but made it clear that India’s focus was firmly on asserting their dominance at home. “Absolutely, I think (SA) they deserve a lot of credit for how they’ve gone about their work in the last sort of nine, ten months,” he said. “You know, the position they’ve found themselves in the WTC and they’ve shown that they are a quality team to beat Australia at the final.”
The coach, however, emphasised that India were equally determined to build on their strong home record and stay in contention for the WTC title race. “But also the WTC is just so important,” he said. “There’s no series that you can just take back and let slip by. And obviously, in the context of the World Cup coming up in a couple of months and, you know, managing the three formats, I’d say this is as important as anything else.” Ten Doeschate added that the team viewed the upcoming matches as part of a long-term goal. “Obviously, a very big step to us achieving getting to the WTC final next year. So yeah, everyone’s looking forward to it. It should be a great contest,” he said. The South Africa series will mark the Proteas’ first Test tour of India since 2019, when the hosts swept the three-match series 3–0. The 2025 tour begins with the first Test at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on November 14, followed by the second in Guwahati from November 22, which will also be the city’s first-ever Test match. India, currently third in the WTC standings, will be led by Shubman Gill, with Rishabh Pant returning to the Test setup after recovering from injury. South Africa, under Temba Bavuma, arrive as the reigning WTC champions and will look to challenge India’s stronghold at home.
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With both teams nearly at full strength and carrying significant recent form, the series promises to deliver a fiery start to the series. After the two Tests, Team India will play South Africa in three ODIs and followed by five T20Is.
