India vs South Africa 2020: 1st ODI, Dharamshala - India Predicted XI

After a forgetful outing against New Zealand, team India is geared up to take on another mighty challenge as they face South Africa in a three-match ODI series from March 12 at home. The newly-elected selection panel led by Sunil Joshi announced the team for the series on Sunday.

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has made a return to the national team after having suffered a long break from international cricket due to injury.

With Rohit Sharma unfit, Prithvi Shaw has retained his spot in the team while veteran Shikhar Dhawan has returned to the squad after missing the New Zealand tour with an injury.

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Moreover, Shaw had made his ODI debut in New Zealand but failed to impress. Mayank Agarwal, who too had made his ODI debut in New Zealand, failed to retain his place.

With all the 15 members of the squad been announced, let’s take a look at the Indian Predicted XI that might take to the field in the first ODI of the three-match series at Dharamshala on March 12.

India vs South Africa 2020: 1st ODI, Dharamshala- India Predicted XI

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan has returned to the squad after missing the New Zealand tour with an injury. India currently lack opening firepower in Rohit Sharma as he is on his road to recovery from the calf injury that he pulled on the New Zealand tour.

Shikhar will look to provide a solid start to team India. Rohit’s absence was widely felt in the ODI and Test series against New Zealand.

Agarwal and Shaw failed miserably as an opening pair as India kneeled down in front of the Kiwis.

Prithvi Shaw

As Rohit is away from the team, Shaw seems to be the obvious first-choice opener alongside Dhawan.

Although Shaw had a poor outing against New Zealand, he will still be preferred over Shubman Gill as his record on home pitches is relatively good.

It will be a crucial opportunity for Prithvi Shaw — to make a mark in the first game of the series as if he misses out on it, he might be replaced in the second match.

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli had one of the poorest tours of his international career against New Zealand. Although he was expected to rest for the South Africa series, he had to be included as Team India lacks a leader since Rohit Sharma is also away.

Virat will also like to use this opportunity to shut the critics – and get back to form well in time before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

There, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), under the captaincy of Kohli will chase their maiden IPL title when they take to the field this season.

Shreyas Iyer

Slowly and steadily, Shreyas Iyer has cemented his place as the first choice number four in the Indian team in the ODI format.

Iyer had a great ODI series against New Zealand wherein he scored his maiden ODI century and was the lone warrior for India throughout the series.

Shreyas Iyer will eye to make a mark and solidify his spot in the Indian squad when he takes to the field against the Proteas.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul has made a strong case for India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman in the limited-overs format with a superlative series against New Zealand.

Rahul has been in the form of his life and has made full use of the opportunity served to him since Rishabh Pant’s departure from the team.

Team India finally looks to have found an answer to MS Dhoni’s replacement and the South Africa series will be a great opportunity for Rahul to cement his place in the team.

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has made a remarkable comeback in white-ball cricket as he scored two blistering centuries in the DY Patil T20 Cup 2020.

Pandya has been away from the team since a long time now because of a lower-back injury he suffered during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Speculations were made over his return to the Indian team in the New Zealand series itself but he couldn’t clear the fitness test and is now back to the Indian side for the South Africa series.

Ravindra Jadeja

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is another such ‘X-Factor’ for team India who can change the game in no time.

Jadeja is a complete package as he can score some crucial runs lower down the order and also pick some important wickets in the middle-overs.

What sets him apart is his fielding. He is a gem of a fielder and is arguably the best fielder in world cricket at the moment. His flying catch against New Zealand in the second Test just goes on to prove his class.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal is a key spinner for India in home and away conditions. He has always helped team India win games and pull out of difficult situations.

Chahal is preferred over Kuldeep Yadav as he has a knack of picking crucial wickets in the middle overs of the game.

Chahal has been sidelined for a long time and the leg-spinner will look to cement his place in the Indian team with a fine performance against the Proteas.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been out of action for a relatively long time now due to the injury he suffered last year when the Proteas toured India.

Bhuvi will take this opportunity to make a comeback in international cricket as he will also eye the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Navdeep Saini:

In recent times, Navdeep Saini has been one of the good finds for India in the bowling department owing to limited-overs cricket.

Saini had a decent New Zealand tour by his standards as he bowled relatively well in the death overs and at a good pace too.

While representing IPL franchise RCB, Saini will look forward to South Africa series—to cement his place in the Indian team.

Jasprit Bumrah

Ideally, the best fast bowler in world cricket since the past couple of years, Jasprit Bumrah returned to international cricket in the New Zealand series.

His performance in the T20Is was decent as he ended up winning the Man of the Match in the final T20I of the New Zealand series.

However, his poor form surface in the ODIs as he went wicketless throughout the entire ODI series, making it the first series since his debut where he went wicketless.

India have had to face a global humiliation in the New Zealand tour because of the poor individual performances some players portrayed during the series.

India Will Look To Re Assert Themself

Team India will take the South Africa series as a great opportunity to re-establish themselves as the leaders of world cricket as some players will also eye a return to form.

It will be exciting to watch when the two giants of world cricket face each other in the impending ODI series. The series opener will be played on March 12 at Dharamshala.

Also Read: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020: Team Of The Tournament