Imran Tahir will be the secret weapon for South Africa in the World Cup
The South African skipper Graeme Smith stated that the Pakistani born leg-spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Tahir will be a surprise for the opponents in the World Cup and the team will use him as a “secret weapon.”
Tahir was selected in the Proteas' squad one year ago when the team had to play against England but the player had some issues to resolve before getting cleared for representing the team at the international level.
However, all the paperwork and the requirements were fulfilled with the help of Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Tahir was given a green signal to represent the South African team.
He was included in the Indian tour and the 15-member World Cup squad but the 33-year-old leg-spinner was not given an opportunity to play against India in the One day Internationals (ODIs).
Smith stated, “(Tahir) is someone we want to keep fresh and not allow people the opportunity to see so much of. It was also a tactical decision, with our batting being slightly light in this series (against India).”
The Pakistani born spinner has played domestic cricket in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, South Africa and England but he still has a thirst to play at the international level. He has an impressive record at the domestic level and has over 500 wickets in first-class cricket.
He is well aware of the conditions in the subcontinent and with the World Cup being played in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, Tahir has a very good opportunity to make it to the playing 11.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 has not been known to produce quality spinners and their current line-up was doing a containing job rather than an attacking one. With the addition of Tahir, the Proteas will have that extra guile in their spin bowling department.
Smith stated it would be hard for the teams to predict their final line-up in the World Cup. ‘We need to assess the conditions going into our first game and pick the team accordingly. I don't think we are going there with a set XI in mind. We are going to
pick the best combinations for each game; players we believe can win that game.”
South Africa has never won the World Cup in the past and they will be one of the favourites to do so this year. They have almost the perfect combination for the upcoming mega event with quality bowlers, world-class batsmen and probably the best ever all-rounder
in Jacques Kallis.
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