South Africa suffered a crushing double blow ahead of Saturday's second Test against India as both pace spearheads Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander were ruled out with injuries.
Philander twisted his left ankle during practice in Bangalore on Thursday and will miss the rest of the four-Test series as MRI scans showed he may be out of action for up to eight weeks.
On Friday, South African skipper Hashim Amla confirmed that Steyn had not recovered from a groin strain he suffered during the first Test in Mohali last week.
“Both Dale and Philander are ruled out of this match,” Amla told reporters at the Chinnaswamy stadium as the tourists prepared to bid for a series-levelling win.
“Obviously, losing Dale – one of the best bowlers in the world – and Philander – one of the best all-rounders in the world – certainly changes the dynamics of the team.
“But the guys who will replace them are quality cricketers. We are fortunate to have great depth in our side, especially in the bowling. We still have a potent bowling attack to back it up.”
The tourists, the world’s top-ranked Test side, crashed to a 108-run defeat inside three days in the first match in Mohali as they found Indian spinners unplayable on the dry, dusty pitch.
The Proteas flew in seamer Kyle Abbott to replace Philander and fast bowler Morne Morkel will also be available after missing the Mohali Test due to a leg injury.
But the absence of Steyn and Philander will hurt the tourists since bad weather in Bangalore over the last few days is certain to spice up the pitch.
Amla insisted that Abbott, who has taken 13 wickets in three Tests so far, will be ready to play despite landing in Bangalore on Thursday night.
“Yes, he is ready,” the skipper said. “Kyle has been one of our outstanding reserve bowlers in the last couple of years. Whenever he has got an opportunity in all formats he has done exceptionally well.”
Both Amla and his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli said the damp weather and forecast of further rain over the next five days will make both teams re-think their plans.
“Let’s see what the weather tomorrow is like,” said Amla. “These type of conditions suit seam bowling. Hope our bowlers will do a good job for us.”
Kohli said the different conditions from Mohali where the Indian spinners claimed 19 of the 20 wickets, are bound to affect the home side’s strategy.
“It does play a part especially knowing that you might not have full game time,” the Indian captain said. “It does sort of bring about a few changes as far as the team combination is concerned.
“We will make the necessary changes according to the conditions. It is very important to keep all the factors in mind before picking a squad for a Test.”
India will welcome back premier fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who missed the Mohali match to serve out a one-Test ban for misconduct during the recent Sri Lankan tour.
Sharma is likely to replace either Umesh Yadav or Varun Aaron – unless India prefer to play three seamers – but Kohli said a final call on the playing XI will be taken just before the toss.
India (from): Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Lokesh Rahul, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Gurkeerat Mann.
South Africa (from): Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas.
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Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
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