In an exclusive chat, the 44-year-old spoke on South Africa's upcoming tour and why Dhoni is the best all-roun... Read More

CHENNAI: Former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener enjoys a strong India connection. Having made a successful Test debut at the Eden Gardens in 1996 -bagging career-best figures of 8 for 64 in the second innings - Klusener has more than a fair idea of what it takes to taste success in India.

In an exclusive chat with TOI on Tuesday , the 44-year-old spoke on South Africa's upcoming tour and why seam bowling remains their most lethal weapon.

Excerpts:

Your thoughts on the South Africa squad picked for the India tour

It's probably the best combination we could put together. This squad has quite a few players who have the experience of playing in India, be it on earlier tours or the IPL.

How crucial will South Africa's seam attack be in conditions traditionally known to assist spin?

We have a solid seam-bowling attack with the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, who have done well in all conditions in recent years. Steyn and Morkel have been to India many times before and know the conditions well. That for me is quite important. Wickets in India offer substantial assistance to spin, but I would like to believe that seam bowling is our strength and should win us games in India. The wickets in India offer some help upfront for the quicks and if our seam bowlers manage to create breakthroughs, then it could put us in a comfortable position.

Your take on the current Test team under Virat Kohli?

He was refreshing during the Sri Lanka series. He led from the front and that's what you want your captain to do all the time. As a batsman, he is one of the best in the world. I am certain the South African team management is going to have him in mind when planning their attack. India are lucky to have someone like Kohli coming through the ranks and doing so well over the years.

The Indian bowling attack seems to have developed its fair share of pacers in Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav

They are looking solid and have tasted success of late. Even though the Indian seam bowling attack has been successful in the recent past, I would still like to believe that the South African (seam bowling) attack does have a lot of experience and should hold the edge.

Are we seeing a genuine dearth of quality all-rounders in world cricket today?

They (all-rounders) are there but they haven't quite proved themselves over the years. We have been lucky that we have had the likes of Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock . I also feel wicketkeeper-batsmen are genuine all-rounders in their own right. The likes of MS Dhoni , Adam Gilchrist are invaluable. The best all-rounder in world cricket in the last few years for me has to be MS Dhoni.

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