Strange that my first big test will be against South Africa: Simons

India's newly-appointed bowling consultant Eric Simons said it was strange that his first big assignment with the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side was against his own country, South Africa.

"It will be a bit strange that my big test will be against my own country," Simons told the Afrikaans daily Beeld. "But that's how it goes in professional sport these days. (Fellow South African) Gary Kirsten is already with (the Indian team) for a while now and even Andy Flower of Zimbabwe coaches England," said the former South African coach, who was yesterday named as India's new bowling consultant for the two Tests against Bangladesh and the subsequent home series against South Africa.

Simons said everything happened very quickly last week before the BCCI signed him up yesterday, adding that he would first see how things panned out before considering a more permanent appointment.

Present South African coach Mickey Arthur said Simons' appointment would "add a very interesting dimension" to his side's tour of India next month. "Although we can share a couple of beers in India, we certainly can't use Afrikaans calls now too much," Arthur jested.