South Africa captain Graeme Smith insists his side can bounce back from the resignation of Mickey Arthur to claim success in India.
Skipper confident ahead of India tour despite Arthur exit
South Africa captain Graeme Smith insists his side can bounce back from the resignation of coach Mickey Arthur to claim success on their tour of India.
The Proteas will play two Tests and three one-day internationals against the world's number one ranked Test nation on the back of a tumultuous week that saw Arthur quit the team due to differences with the South African board.
Smith, however, is confident his team have the experience and a strong enough record in the subcontinent to defeat the home side.
Emotional
"It's been an emotional week and not many teams go to India and win," said Smith.
"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."
Arthur has been replaced on a temporary basis by former fast bowler Corrie van Zyl, who was an assistant coach for the national team between 1998 and 2003.
Focus
"My experience of things like the last week is that it builds a team rather than tears it apart," said Van Zyl.
"Obviously the players have to deal with their emotions but it's a very important series and we need to focus on our preparations."
Van Zyl was present in the Proteas management team during the Hansie Cronje scandal in 2000 when the former captain admitted to receiving around $130,000 from bookmakers to influence the result of matches and was consequently banned for life.
Van Zyl added: "I was part of the management team when the Hansie Cronje issue came about and sometimes those things just pull a team together."
South Africa will partake in a two-day warm-up match against an Indian Board President's XI in Nagpur from Tuesday before playing the first Test in the same city starting on February 6.
