When Team India goes to play the 5-match home T20 series against South Africa, it will be seen in a new avatar. Most of the senior players have been rested and young faces have been included in the 18-man squad selected by BCCI for this series. Major players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja are not part of this series. In their place, the board has given a chance to the players who have shown great sports in the IPL.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul has been made the captain of the team, while Rishabh Pant will be the vice-captain. It will not be easy for captain Rahul and the team management to select a playing XI from such a huge squad. Umran or Arshdeep is finding it difficult to get a debut opportunity, considering the chance of making a world record of winning 13 T20 matches in a row.
KL Rahul and Rituraj Gaikwad can open
Most of the batsmen in the team selected for the series against South Africa are capable of batting in the top order for the team. Captain KL Rahul will be seen opening for the team and either Rituraj Gaikwad or Ishan Kishan can accompany him. In IPL-15, both Ishan Kishan and Gaikwad had a decent performance, but considering the right hand-left hand combination, the team management can get Ishan Kishan to open with Rahul.
Shreyas Iyer is sure to come at number three for the team and in the absence of Kohli, the team does not have much of its options. Iyer, who captained Kolkata in IPL-15, scored 401 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 134.56. With the World Cup to be held in November, this is a big opportunity for Iyer to prove himself and he will not want to lose it.
Looks amazing middle order
With Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, and Hardik Pandya, the middle order of the team looks quite settled. Vice-captain Rishabh Pant can be seen playing at number four, Dinesh Karthik at number five, and Hardik Pandya at number six. Pandya and Karthik have shown great form in IPL-15. Rishabh Pant also got good starts in many innings in IPL but he could not convert them into big scores. In such a situation, he has a chance to play big innings in this series.
If the team goes with an additional all-rounder, then Axar Patel could prove to be a great option at number seven.
Talent has been shown in IPL due to a lack of experience in bowling
In fast bowling, the Indian camp looks quite inexperienced compared to the top-order and middle-order. However, the team has an experienced bowler in Bhuvneshwar Kumar to lead the pace attack and he is sure to play. Harshal Patel, who played brilliantly against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and West Indies, is also likely to play. Avesh Khan can also play in the opening matches. The team also has speed gun Umran Malik and yorker specialist Arshdeep, but it seems that they will not be part of the team in the initial matches.
In the spin department, the team has Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal, who won the Purple Cap in IPL-15. Chahal is sure to play. If the team goes with an extra spinner against South Africa, then Kuldeep can also be seen playing in place of a fast bowler.
Team India\'s probable playing XI for the opening matches of the South Africa series
KL Rahul (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan/Kuldeep Yadav
Because of the T20 World Cup to be held in November, this series is a good opportunity for India to test its bench strength. In such a situation, if the team wins the opening match, then many young players can debut in this series.
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