IND vs SA: 5 Veteran Indian Players Who Might Be Rested For South Africa T20I Series

Team India will host South Africa for five T20 International matches in June. The series will begin just 10 days after the conclusion of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The five-match T20I series will resume India’s roadmap for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia later this year in the October-November period.

The squad for the forthcoming T20I series against South Africa is likely to be announced during the IPL 2022 playoffs (May 24-29).

The selectors will have a keen eye on emerging players of this IPL edition and they might give chance to the pool of talented players considering India will play against England in July followed by the Asia Cup in the August-September window.

Some of the senior Indian players could be rested for the South Africa T20I fixtures to allow young players like Umran Malik, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh to showcase their strength and potential.

Let us look at five Indian senior players that might not feature in the T20I squad for the home T20I series in June.

IND vs SA: 5 Veteran Indian Players Who Might Be Rested

1) Virat Kohli

Kohli’s batting form has been the talking point in the IPL 2022 with many experts reckoning senior Indian players should take a break from the game as they find him overcooked.

The former RCB skipper scored 186 runs in 10 innings at an average of 20.67 and a strike rate of 116.25. Kohli hit his first half-century in the last game against Gujarat Titans – 58 in 53 balls.

Kohli was rested for the Sri Lanka T20I series in February to charge the Indian batter for his 100th Test match in Mohali.

Reports have suggested that unless Kohli doesn’t opt for a break or decides to pull out from any game, the BCCI won’t drop him from any squad.

If Kohli is to believe the former Indian head coach and his confidante Ravi Shastri, the player must take a rest to regain form.

2) Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah is part of Mumbai Indians’ appalling campaign in IPL 2022, where they suffered eight straight losses, an unwanted record for the five-time IPL champions.

Talking precisely, the ace Indian speedster’s numbers have also been impacted adversely.

Bumrah averages 51.20 after bowling more than 34 overs (206 balls precisely) and conceded 256 runs with just wickets in return. The Ahmedabad-born bowler has recorded the worst bowling average since IPL 2015 (61.33).

Bumrah might be rested as the Indian selectors could test young bowlers to ruminate over the bowling combinations for the T20 WC.

3) KL Rahul

The Karnatak batter is having a great time with not just the willow in hand but also enjoying the captaincy stint with a new franchise – Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Rahul is currently the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament with 451 runs in 10 innings at 56.38.

Rahul played his last T20I match for India against New Zealand in November 2021. He missed the T20I series against West Indies and Sri Lanka owing to a hamstring injury.

The Indian limited-overs vice-captain has no dearth of form at present that can question his selection for the mega event Down Under. Unless the selectors opt to rest Rohit Sharma, Rahul might rest as players like Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad need opportunities to push their case for backup openers.

4) Ravindra Jadeja

The Indian all-rounder played a phenomenal role in helping India whitewash Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20I series. He scored 70 runs in three innings at a staggering strike rate of 189.19 and picked a couple of wickets with the ball.

Coming to IPL 2022, Jadeja was named MS Dhoni’s replacement as Chennai Super Kings’ new captain. However, Jadeja couldn’t resist the pressure as CSK lost six of their first eight games.

Jadeja’s individual performance was also affecting him – 112 runs in eight games at an average of 42 and five wickets with an economy rate of 8.19.

As a result, Jadeja handed back the captaincy duties to Dhoni in order to focus on his game.

Jadeja might be rested for the South Africa T20Is as wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are under the radar with tremendous form in IPL 2022.

5) Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin played his last T20I match during the three-match series against New Zealand at home in November.

Ashwin wasn’t selected for the West Indies white-ball fixtures as the Tamil Nadu player was reportedly said to recover from an unknown injury.

If reports are to be believed, Ashwin is once again likely to get sidelined for India’s white-ball plans. However, there is nothing official from the Indian board.

Ashwin is playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2022, having picked eight wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate of 7.1 The bowling all-rounder has also played some handy cameos with the bat.