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There’s a scene in the famous 1980s crime movie, The Untouchables, in which Robert De Niro, playing gangster Al Capone, bashes the head of an alleged snitch with a baseball bat while espousing the merits of teamwork. “I get nowhere unless the team wins,” De Niro’s character snarls as the bloodletting begins. Senuran Muthusamy lives by the teamwork ethos, although thankfully, he practises those beliefs less violently than the former Chicago crime lord. “I try to be a good team person and team player and contribute where I can,” said the 32-year-old. Last season, those contributions were significant but garnered less fanfare than those of some of his teammates. Muthusamy earned the player of the series award after the Proteas drew 1-1 in Pakistan last year. He claimed a 10-wicket haul in the first Test, which the Proteas lost, and followed that with an unbeaten 89 in the second, which South Africa won. But it was Keshav Maharaj, who picked up seven wickets in Pakistan’s first innings, and Simon Harmer’s six-fer in the second that grabbed the spotlight in the eight-wicket victory in Rawalpindi. Muthusamy’s maiden Test century in the second Test against India the following month was once again overshadowed by Harmer, who took 17 wickets in those two Tests, and Marco Jansen, who took 6/48 and made 93 in Guwahati. Real team effort “I was grateful for the opportunities that I received, and I was glad that I was able to contribute performances for our team and really happy to get a few positive results out there. It was a real team effort throughout,” said Muthusamy. “Simon bowled beautifully, Kesh bowled really well, our seamers were incredible, and our batters did their job. It was a fantastic team effort, which is what it takes to be successful in the subcontinent. It’s not always pretty, but it’s about getting the job done.” When pressed on how he reflected on those individual landmarks, Muthusamy continued to frame his response around what they meant from the team perspective. It’s tough being a spinning all-rounder in South Africa — Senuran Muthusamy, Proteas all-rounder “It was great to get the opportunities, get some success and contribute meaningfully to the team. That is what I took from it. It was really fulfilling.” That kind of selfless outlook is endearing, but it should not be mistaken for feebleness. Muthusamy is fully aware that conditions in the subcontinent last year allowed for circumstances in which he could share the field with Maharaj and Harmer. Maximum of two spinners That is unlikely to be the case this summer, with South Africa playing all eight Tests on home soil against Australia, Bangladesh and England. Circumstances might allow a maximum of two spinners, and, with four Tests in Gauteng, there may even be a temptation not to play a spinner at all. “In the subcontinent, the focus really is on the spinners and the spinning all-rounders especially,” he said. After the Guwahati Test, in which he also took a wicket to go with that 100, Muthusamy remarked that “it’s tough being a spinning all-rounder in South Africa”. Conditions make it hard to justify inclusion, even at domestic level, and certainly overs are limited because pitches are usually conducive to seamers. All of which means Muthusamy, Maharaj and Harmer are in competition for Test spots for the 2026/27 season, with Muthusamy, unfortunately for him, not the favourite to start. “Those are the realities of cricket,” he said. There are options “I guess we have to see what conditions say and then what sort of balance we want to go with. It depends [if selectors] want an all-rounder who’s a spinner or someone who’s an out-and-out spinner. That’s the beauty of it. There are options. Which is always good and healthy.” He suffered a small tear in the posterior cruciate ligament at the end of last season and has spent the bulk of the winter in a brace. It meant he missed a stint with English county club Kent. He was due to return to play this morning for the SA A side, which started a four-day match against Bangladesh A in Tshwane. However, CSA confirmed on Friday that Muthusamy would miss the match due to a lower-back spasm incurred at training. “There’s a lot of cricket this summer, and I want to make sure I’m available and able to perform at my best.”