Sanjay Manjrekar gives his verdict ahead of the Test series in South Africa on India's most precious resource – their batting SS Das
Is this boy from Orissa man enough? His failures in the Summer Spice triangular will have dented his confidence and he will go into the first Test plagued by self-doubt. He is not the type of attacking strokeplayer that does well in South Africa, nor is he a natural grafter. He is very good at the pushes and the nudges, and at taking singles and rotating the strike. His footwork is quite impressive, in contrast to some of his leaden-footed colleagues. He moves forward very well when the ball is pitched up, and glides easily onto the back foot when it is short. He should not go out to bat intending either to attack or graft for runs, but should just play his natural game, and take it as it comes.

Connor Williams
Contrary to popular belief, I've always felt that it's an advantage to begin your international career on an overseas tour. You get more opportunities to prove yourself, and not too many players around you notch up big hundreds. And a fighting effort is remembered for a long time. I went through such a baptism in the West Indies in 1988-89, and I feel that it's a win-win situation for Connor. While he isn't known as too proficient with the hook or the pull, one does not necessarily need these strokes to succeed in South Africa. Mental resolve can make all the difference, as Michael Atherton proved.

VVS Laxman
I wonder if India will pay for their impatience in calling up Laxman too early – those failures in the one-dayers won't have done wonders for his confidence. He, along with Sachin Tendulkar, pose the main threat to the South African bowlers. One hopes that he will not be too affected by his early failures on the tour. His one weakness, most prominent when he is not in form, is against the ball that is pitched up, and is swinging a bit. A case in point came in a match against South Africa in the triangular, when the ball pitched on middle stump and swung away, and Laxman played too far inside the line. He is impeccable against the short ball, but needs to concentrate more on this particular weakness. If he plays his natural game he can get some crucial hundreds for India, and in quick time too, which could make all the difference. I find it baffling that a player of his quality has been so inconsistent in international cricket: he certainly has all the shots to succeed in South Africa. It's surely a mental thing, and I hope he sorts it out soon.

Sachin Tendulkar
I don't like his approach to one-day cricket these days - he plays with the aim of making a hundred. But I love the way he plays his Test cricket. He has become a master at blending attack and defence, especially against good opposition. He plays out the good bowlers, and when he feels the time is right, or a particular bowler is tired, or uncertain of his line and length, he launches into attack. He is India's key player, and will be glad that Allan Donald is not playing this series: Donald has the ability to get under his skin a fair bit. Without Donald, I don't think the South African bowlers believe in their ability to get Tendulkar out, and that will give him a huge psychological advantage going into the series.

Rahul Dravid
Once again, Dravid looks the Indian batsman best prepared for the challenges the Test series will pose. He is inherently a defensive player, and normally anchors the team while the others play around him. The pull is his only instinctive attacking stroke and he employed it liberally when he made that fine, career-defining hundred in 1996-97 at Jo'burg. Unlike some of his colleagues, he is not the kind of player who can hit a good ball to the boundary, nor is he comfortable hitting through the line, or hitting on the up. But thankfully, he has the ability to take singles even as he defends. Along with Tendulkar, he is India's most dependable batsman, and the strokeplayers in the team should look to play around him.

Sourav Ganguly
One hopes that Sourav Ganguly doesn't go the Vinod Kambli way. Kambli waded into the West Indian fast bowlers on home pitches in the one-dayers of 1994-95, but Courtney Walsh and Winston Benjamin came back with a vengeance in the Test series that followed, and effectively ended his career. Ganguly is a much better player than Kambli, but the South African bowlers would surely be thirsting for revenge. Ganguly hit his way out of trouble in the one-day matches, but it will be an embarrassing sight if he attempts it in the Tests. He should be judicious with his strokeplay and rely on his natural talent to see him through. If the Test pitches offer as little lateral movement as we have seen in the one-day games, we should expect the odd entertaining knock from him. He is very capable of hitting even good deliveries to the boundary; all he has to do is believe in himself. But Ganguly's strength, his off-side play, is also his weakness. I'm surprised the South Africans did not attack him more there, as the Australians did.

Virender Sehwag
Selecting Sehwag in place of Jacob Martin is a gamble. His technique is simply not good enough for Test cricket. He is not a compact player, and tends to play away from his body outside the off stump. He plays too often with the open face of the bat, even while defending. I cannot see him playing good defensive shots to ten balls in a row. India's strategy might be to use him as Pakistan used Azhar Mahmood in 1997-98, when Mahmood made three Test centuries against South Africa, while batting down the order. All-out attack, throwing caution to the wind and aiming to throw the bowlers off their line and length, could really turn things around for India, though I still feel his selection is a long shot.

Sanjay Manjrekar was the mainstay of the Indian batting in the late '80s and early '90s.

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