'He's going to challenge Indian batters': Jaffer picks India's biggest threat in SA series, calls him 'one of the best'

Jaffer was highly of praise for the Indian attack as well, admitting that they will keep the team in the game, but expressed concern over the batting.

Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer on Wednesday warned the touring Indian team to be wary of South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, picking him as India's biggest threat in the upcoming three-match Test series which begins from December 26.

Wasim Jaffer; Indian cricket team (ANI)

Rabada has played nine Tests against India, picking 24 wickets at 29.16. 15 of them were picked during the three Tests he played against India in the 2018 series, at just 20.26 and a strike rate of 41.17. South Africa will be relying on the pacer for leading the attack in the series against India in the absence of Anrich Nortje, who has been ruled out of the series because of a recurring hit-related injury.

"South Africa has a decent fast bowling attack, there is no doubt. Rabada is one of the best. He is going to challenge the Indian batters. They have sufficient quality. Their pace bowling will definitely challenge India. But their batting is not the same like it was before. Nonetheless, it will be a challenging tour for India," Jaffer told News18.com.

Jaffer was however highly of praise for the Indian attack as well, admitting that they will keep the team in the game, but expressed concern over the batting. Jaffer opined that India can only win matches if they can score 400 or more runs.

"India's bowlers will keep their team in the game. The Indian fast bowling is very experienced now. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have a lot of experience. India has an all-round attack. I have been saying that if India scores 400 plus, it is more likely that it will win matches. Our bowling attack is first class. The challenge is for the batters to put scores on the board. That's been the problem," he added.

Jaffer, who had toured South Africa back in 2006, advised the Indian batting line-up to contribute alongside Virat Kohli while naming Rishabh Pant as a potential game changer.

"In 2018, Virat was the only one who got the runs. The other batters need to step up. Now, India's batting is more balanced in the top six. Rishabh (Pant) can change the game if he bats for one or one and a half hours. There are good players in the team; they have to contribute around Virat," he concluded.