IND vs SA: 'Hardik Pandya’s Absence As India’s 5th Bowler Will Worry Rohit Sharma In South Africa T20Is'- Wasim Jaffer

Wasim Jaffer, a former batter, said that Rohit Sharma will be concerned about the absence of Hardik Pandya and Deepak Hooda in India’s forthcoming three-match T20I series against South Africa.

Hardik won’t participate in the games against the Proteas after playing against Australia. He is now working on conditioning at the NCA in Bengaluru.

However, Hooda has been disqualified from the series because of a back issue. As Hooda’s replacement, Shreyas Iyer has been selected.

India Will Have A Problem With A 6th Bowler: Wasim Jaffer

Wasim Jaffer also felt that, given India’s recent struggles with death bowling, Arshdeep Singh should be selected for the starting XI.

“India should pick Arshdeep Singh in the 1st T20I purely because India’s problem lies with death bowling. Arshdeep coming in might help Harshal Patel to bowl in the middle overs. We all know Arshdeep can bowl really well at the death,” Jaffer was quoted as saying to ESPNcricinfo.

“In this series, India will have a problem with a sixth bowler as we don’t have Hardik Pandya, we don’t have Deepak Hooda. That is going to be a worry for Rohit Sharma to handle those five bowlers,” he added.

Harshal Patel Needs To Put In More Effort While Bowling Slower Ones: Wasim Jaffer

After the fast bowler went for a lot of runs against the Australians, Wasim Jaffer also gave Harshal Patel some advice to work harder on his slower deliveries.

“He has got the variations, he has really good slower balls. He has got really good Yorkers as well and he bowls at a decent pace. He needs to put in more effort while bowling slower deliveries. Sometimes, batters tend to wait for those deliveries knowing that it’s his go-to ball,” Jaffer added.

On Wednesday, September 28, in Trivandrum, there will be the opening of Twenty20 International between South Africa and India.

India squad for South Africa T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed.

Also Read: India vs South Africa: Match Preview, South Africa Tour Of India 2022, 1st T20I