After a summer of fast and furious Proteas bowling, spinner Keshav Maharaj comes into the attack with a turn on pace.
South Africa’s speedsters were too much for Pakistan as they whitewashed the tourist 3-0 in their Test series.
But captain Faf du Plessis has confirmed that Maharaj will play in the first of two Tests against Sri Lanka in Durban at 10 am on Wednesday.
The problem for Faf comes in how he lets one of his pacemen down easy – like Duanne Olivier who took 24 Pakistani wickets or SA’s record Test wicket-taker Dale Steyn – and striking the right balance.
He says: “It becomes very hard and it is a tricky decision. Normally you would say that there is no comparison and that Dale Steyn is Dale Steyn, but now Duanne [Olivier] has bowled so well that you have to look at what is best for you team at the moment.”
Keshav, meanwhile, says that the Kingsmead pitch is tailor-made for a spinner and having patiently sat out against Pakistan, believes he can do a job for the Proteas.
He says: “Obviously it [an all-pace attack] paid off against Pakistan. It’s not your swing and fast bowling wicket anymore. Over the years, with wear and tear, we’ve lost that. Patience is the key at Kingsmead.”