"Baptism By Fire”, that’s the best word to describe India’s tour of South Africa come next month – December 2013, i.e. India, with abundance of talent both in their batting as well as in bowling department and with the weight & presence of a world class all-rounder in Ravichandran Ashwin, is perhaps the second best team after England to pose a seemingly major threat to South Africa’s dominance in world cricket & that too - on current form.

India last played a test match outside the sub-continent way back in 2011 in Australia and won a match in this very land way back in January 2010 in Durban. A streak of back-to-back losses for MS Dhoni & his men saw India losing 8 away test matches in a raw in England as well as in Australia respectively only an year after the triumphant world cup win in 2011, which was held in our home turf.

But to be fair to this Indian team – that statistics is a part of History now & there’s no way on earth that that’ll come back to haunt them in the African soil just like their recent 6 match winning streak, which holds little value especially when the onus is on skill, technique & natural ability.

On paper, South Africa is perhaps a tad better side than India “definitely in the bowling department” and considering their home record since 2009, they, in all sense of the word deserves to be tagged as the favorites to win this test series. They are the #1 test side in the world not only because of their home record but also due to their away record as well and more so – their more or less unbeaten record in the sub-continent in the last 5-6 years.

They have in Devilliers, Kallis, Amla & Smith some of world’s best batsman & in the bowling department an array of lethal combination with the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel & Vernon Philander up their sleeves. Add to that an outstanding captain in Grame Smith & a useful leg spinner in Imran Tahir and any cricket expert will say “South Africa.? They have the right mix of youth & experience at the moment” and hence are, in all probability – “The team to beat in the world right now” – on current form.

MS Dhoni has been a wonderful captain for India ever since his arrival in 2007 but if he is to be considered in the league of Imran Khan’s, Ranatunga’s & the Ian Chappel’s – he’s got to be able to do well both in South Africa, England & Australia not to mention the minnows like New Zealand & West Indies.

To be fair to Dhoni he had a couple of past-their prime, over-aged players in the test squad & the understated/blatantly obvious “world cup hangover” in 2011 as solid reasons but now in 2013 there’s no excuse for Mahi & his men for not playing well, forget winning or losing.

India have got some extremely talented players in - Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma & Chetheswar Pujara - and its very important that they get some runs under their belts & get rid of the “flat track bullies” monkey off their back as early as possible.

I’ve been an ardent supporter of our team selection in the last few years following the WC 2011 but this time I couldn’t understand why we didn’t go to South Africa with a specialist back-up opener.? In the 17 member squad, without the little master – conventional wisdom says that Sachin’s Mumbai Indian’s teammate Ajinkya Rahane should take up the #4 position in the two test matches in Johannesburg & Durban with the exception of India opting to play with 5 bowlers instead of four – which is highly unlikely in such bouncy conditions.

Which raises the question - “What about the back-up opener.?”. If either Dhawan or Vijay gets a finger injury or something then our captain & coach will have a tough time replacing him with a temporary opener from the players – Pujara, Rahane or Rohit Sharma who did a similar job in the one day format. Experts will tell you that opening & number 3 are specialists jobs no matter what pitch condition you’re playing or which opponent you’re facing. With either Virender Sehwag or Gautam Gambir in the team India can afford to breathe a little easily just in case if one of their openers gets injured.

Another baffling selection(perhaps not) for SAF, was the inclusion of Mumbaikar Ambati Rayudu in the 17 member squad. The once child prodigy in the early 2000’s was touted as the next big sensation in Indian cricket following a blistering 177 for India U19’s vs England U19’s way back in August 2002. But poor Rayudu was devoid of a national call-up as he opts to play in the Indian Cricket League a trimmed down version of the Indian Premier league in 2005-06.

To be fair to Rayudu he has earned his call-up to the national side amassing 850 ode runs in the 2012-13 Ranji Season which included a stunning 131 against Delhi a knock which Impressed not only Sehwag & Gambhir but also the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Perhaps its Tendulkar who inspired Rayudu in the team-talks & there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that he is one batsman we’re going to miss big time in South Africa.

Whether or not India will succeed in South Africa without Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is a question remains to be answered & if the talent turns into performance coupled with perseverance – We can proudly say “ We’ve come a long way post Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid & Laxman era”. Fingers crossed, this young bunch delivers the goods in the Rainbow Nation. For the moment though – Its Sreejith M P signing off. Goodbye & Good Night.