Hi Sabir
I have not read his book so cannot comment too much on that. However, I did a quick search and saw his background is CRM. Perhaps his recommended career path was an example based on his background?
It sounds like you are a planner which is a good trait to have if you are determined to switch over. What sort of technical support are are you doing? If you are a recent graduate you might be able to look to apply to graduate programs in some consultancies (I won't mention names but if you google SAP consultancy graduate position you will find a heap of names).
As far as getting across to Basis the sort of research you could do is look at the SCN communities for System Administration and see they times of themes of the questions. To transition from general system administration to SAP you could look at skilling up with Databases (e.g. Oracle), Operating Systems, Networks, etc. These skills will compliment the Basis skill set but also protect your investment should a SAP job not work out - you still have skills to be valued elsewhere.
In relation to training and education, you want might to research about the SAP Learning Hub. If you are good at self-teaching and learning online this would be a good way for you to invest in training and go at your own pace and keep your cost down. There is a free discovery edition for you to see what the course content it like but it does not give you much of the system administration component.
I would hold off going for any certification (cost) unless until you some experience (unless ofcourse, it becomes a requirement for the job).
The final bit for getting into SAP is investigate the companies that use SAP. Keep looking out for job opportunities to join one of them and then find a way to move into the SAP system administration area.
Good luck with it all and if you have any specific question let us know
Cheers
Colleen