"Statistics Will Tell You...": Rahul Dravid's Blunt Verdict On South Africa Challenge

With his contract as Team India's head coach renewed, Rahul Dravid is ready for the tour of South Africa where the boys will be involved in cricketing contests across the three formats of the game. While the series begins with T20Is, with ODIs to follow, its the Test assignment that will arguably decide whether the tour will be a success or not. Dravid, giving his blunt assessment of the South Africa challenge, admitted that it would be a tricky tour for the Indian team.

For the unversed, the Indian team has never ogne on to win a Test series in South Africa. Rahul Dravid's men will be looking to make history this time. Speaking exclusively on Star Sports - Follow the Blues LIVE, Dravid spoke on what the gameplan is for the batsmen as they approach the series against South Africa.

He said: "So, it is a challenging place to bat; the statistics will tell you that. It is one of the more difficult places to bat in, especially up here in Centurion and Johannesburg. The wickets do tend to do a bit, and they tend to get up and down as well. Every one of the batsmen will have a game plan as to how they want to go, as long as they are clear about it and they commit to it and are practicing towards that, that's fine. We don't expect everyone to play in the same way."

"We want them to be very clear about what works for them, and then be able to execute that. The boys, once they get out there, a lot of it is mental, and I guess, you know, we try and stress on the fact that if we do get going, if we get the opportunity to get set, they try to make it a match-winning contribution," he added.

India's tour of South Africa begins on December 10 while the Test series will commence on December 26.