Against the backdrop of a historic Test win at Mount Maunganui against New Zealand earlier this year, there was a sense of growing self-belief among the Tigers as they traveled to South Africa for a three-match ODI and two-match Test series.

Like their record in New Zealand until that Test victory, Bangladesh have never won a game in any format in South Africa over the years. But ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal stated before boarding the flight that the win in New Zealand could prove to be the tonic.

However, South Africa's conditions are among the toughest for Bangladesh. The Tigers have played six Tests, nine ODIs, and four T20Is, losing them all.

Experienced pacer Rubel Hossain, who was part of the last tour to South Africa in 2017, informed that pacers would have to play a major role if Bangladesh want to flip the script.

"Conditions and pitches in South Africa are challenging. Nowadays we don't get to see a lot of bouncy tracks. Instead, we see sporting tracks that help both batters and bowlers. If I talk about white-ball cricket, a majority of bowlers tend to bowl fuller. But it will be important to read the pitch and bowl accordingly. Accuracy will be key for our bowlers and it will be important not to give any room," Rubel told The Daily Star.

The 32-year-old, who has 129 wickets in 104 ODIs, also prescribed the pacers to bank on their strengths and bring in variety.

"Every bowler is different and each has their strengths. If I talk about Taskin Ahmed, his strength is pace. So he needs to bank on that and try to exploit the conditions. On the other hand, Shoriful Islam has got some variations up his sleeve, which is very important in ODIs. Mustafizur Rahman needs to adjust when he plays abroad and I think he needs to be more accurate and look to utilise his cutters accordingly," he said.

Rubel, who last played a Test against Pakistan in 2020, shared his experiences with other pacers like Abu Jayed and Khaled Ahmed on how to approach the longest format in South African conditions.

"A lot will depend on the pacers if we want something positive in South Africa, similar to New Zealand. However, our pacers do not have a good record abroad. If the bowlers only want to bowl fast, I'm afraid it won't work. It is important to bowl fuller in Test cricket and to get swing and seam movement from the surface. If you only bowl fast, it won't give you wickets consistently. I spoke with Jayed and Khaled before they left for South Africa and tried to share my experience.

"Ebadot can be a good example. He was a little wayward before but recently has become consistent with his line and length. He bowls a lot fuller now. You can see the results for yourself. He picked up a fifer in New Zealand and I think our pacers need to be consistent to get a favourable result," Rubel concluded.