With so many legends at our disposal, it would be silly not to use their knowledge in what is arguably the toughest series for the Proteas in the Test Championship, writes Ongama Gcwabe.

With what we know so far, the Proteas go to India with no Batting Coach, as Lance Klusener will only join the camp for the first part of the tour which is the T20 series.

Also, we go to India with no specific coach for our spin bowlers. With only one month away from the Test series, this looks a rather careless approach to what is arguably the toughest series of our Test Championship campaign.

We heard Thabang Moroe and Corrie van Zyl emphasize the importance of having people who will be held accountable for the performances when the new coaching structure was introduced, but that very same concept is not being applied for this tour.

Who will be held responsible should we prove not good enough against Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin?

This period in South African Cricket provides us with an opportunity to give some of our legends a chance to express themselves as coaches/consultants.

Their knowledge and experience will bring a sense of calm in the camp and to the youngsters, this is exactly what the Proteas need in this rebuilding phase we are currently in.

With such a young team and an Interim team Director in Enock Nkwe, going to India without a mentor that the boys will respect and feed off could turn this India tour into a possible suicide mission.

However, if the Proteas request consultancy from the likes of Gary Kirsten, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis or other South African legends, it could have an amazing effect on these boys who could respond positively to their mentorship.

There’s also an option of bringing in someone like Paul Harris or Paul Adams to mentor our spinners as they have the experience of playing Test cricket in India.

Adams was on the spin camp in August to work with these guys. Why has he not been asked to join the Proteas for the Test series at least?

We have seen Cricket Australia take the same route when they included Steve Waugh to be the mentor for the Test squad during the 2019 Ashes series.

Waugh is a hero to most, if not all, of the Australian players that are involved in the ongoing Ashes series. Also, during the 2019 World Cup, they included Ricky Ponting as a consultant/mentor and look how much impact he had on Aaron Finch and David Warner.

Also, bringing these legends into the mix for the India tour will widen our choices for the permanent positions of the coaching roles. Perhaps this is the same route Cricket South Africa should take.

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