South African pacer Vernon Philander thinks it will be a tough task for his team to start off their ICC World Test Championship campaign against India at their home and the senior players of the team should take the responsibility to come up and throw the “first punch at the big dogs.”

Both the teams will play the first game of the three-match Test series at Vishakhapatnam starting from 2nd October. This will mark South Africa’s start to their WTC campaign, with only Bangladesh and Pakistan yet to begin their campaign. Philander thinks his team would have loved to take on the in-form Indian side on South African pitches.

 "It’s a tough start…playing India in India, but I don’t think the South Africans would have wanted it any other way… take the big dogs in their home ground. All of us are looking forward to this challenge and there are a lot of player-to-player challenges as well. Can’t wait to get going," he told ICC.

"The Test championship brings in a new dimension. It is a new sort of excitement for players. Also knowing that you will be playing against top teams more often [is great],” he added.

South Africa will miss Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn, who have had greater experience of playing in the sub-continent conditions, and with some young players coming into the team, the Proteas will be relying on their senior players to make a statement.

"Spotlight will be on a lot of big players to make a statement. Our job is to come here and give the first punch as India is obviously expected to do well. We are known as a team who starts slow, so this time around, we have to start well. There is a lot of pressure on the players [but then] it’s international cricket and you want to keep it that way.” 

Philander is feeling confident of doing well in the upcoming series as his average of 18.82 against India is his second best against an opponent. "We are obviously prepared to do well. When we do well, it gives you that better confidence and I’ll take that confidence with me. It’s been a long winter for me, and I am feeling in really good nick," he said.

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Anesh Debiky

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