"Been their mainstay for a number of years": Rohit's special praise for Elgar ahead of his final Test
Jan 02, 2024
Cape Town [South Africa], January 2 : India skipper Rohit Sharma hailed his South African counterpart Dean Elgar who will be playing his final Test of a prolific international career on Wednesday.
Elgar has captained South Africa to famous victories over the period and was the pillarstone during their victory over India in the first Test.
The veteran batter scored 185 in the opening game of his farewell Test series which laid the foundation of South Africa's victory by an innings and 32 runs.
Ahead of the second Test, Rohit hailed Elgar for the contribution he has made for the Proteas and the knack he has to score runs against India.
"He has been their mainstay for a number of years now and gets a lot of runs against us for sure again a quality player who puts a lot of weightage in his wicket. He doesn't throw it away just like that. The important thing for us to see is if we can get him early and try and see what the other batters do. We know how important he is to them. He likes to score big runs. He likes to bat long as well. We have got our plans let's hope it works out for us," Rohit said in the pre-match press conference.
After Temba Bavuma's injury, a fairytale farewell was on the cards for Elgar as he was named South Africa's skipper for the final Test against India.
Zubayr Hamza will replace Bavuma in the squad for the final Test to be played in the New Year at Cape Town, starting from January 3.
Elgar is no stranger to leadership, having previously led the Proteas, including the most recent Test series between India and South Africa. After falling behind 1-0 in 2022-23, the opening led by example to complete a 2-1 comeback triumph.
