A good record in the subcontinent and experienced players will help South Africa on their tour of India after a tumultuous week in which coach Mickey Arthur resigned, captain Graeme Smith said.
The Proteas reached Mumbai on Saturday night and later left for Nagpur on Sunday morning to play two Tests and three One-day Internationals against India, the world's number one ranked Test nation, after Arthur quit on Wednesday due to differences with the South African board.
“It's been an emotional week and not many teams go to India and win,” Smith told a news conference in Johannesburg on Saturday.
“But our record in the subcontinent is solid and the players who have been part of the set-up for a while have dealt with a few difficult things in recent years and handled them very well.
“I expect them to be as professional as normal, and I'm looking to them for responsibility and guidance for the youth,” Smith said.
Former fast bowler Corrie van Zyl, an assistant coach for the national team between 1998 and 2003, has replaced Arthur on an interim basis.
“My experience of things like the last week is that it builds a team rather than tears it apart,” Van Zyl said.
South Africa will play a two-day warm-up match against an Indian Board President's XI in Nagpur starting on Tuesday before the first Iest in the same city, which begins on February 6.
