IND vs SA: India Squad vs South Africa (Predicted)

India will play South Africa in a five-match T20I series between June 9 to 19 across five venues in India. The senior players in the squad namely, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant are expected to be rested for the series.

This gives the BCCI to name a young side and test them out in home conditions. The series also serves as a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia. Since conditions in Australia will be totally different to India, they can prepare the pitches which can almost resemble the pitches down under to get them prepared for the mega event.

With India also slated to play against England in July, the senior players in the squad might be given a break from the series. Thus the squad that might be announced might have many young and inexperienced players. Shikhar Dhawan is expected to lead the side. Hardik Pandya is being seen as another potential option after his impressive captaincy with the Gujarat Titans.

In this article, we try and predict India’s likely 15-member squad for the home series against South Africa. Particular focus will be on covering all the bases.

IND vs SA: India Squad vs South Africa (Predicted)

Openers: Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill

All the above-mentioned names are the chief contributors with the bat for their respective teams. While Dhawan and Gill have scored over 400 runs for the season, Gaikwad after a slow start has scored over 350 runs in the season and bagged a few good scores. The experience of the southpaw can come in very handy in these Indian pitches where a batsman needs to anchor the innings most of the time. Gill can Gaikwad can be used in alternate games if that is the game plan.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Mohsin Khan Likely To Get India Call-Up Ahead Of Umran Malik For SA T20Is – Reports

Middle-Order: Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant / Rahul Tripathi

The middle-order has a lot of options. Tilak Verma is almost certain to be selected as per recent reports. Hardik Pandya can be selected as a specialist all-rounder with Samson and Rishabh as keeping options. The likes of Shreyas Iyer and especially Rahul Tripathi have made a case for their selection as well. Tripathi especially has been consistent for a few seasons now in the IPL and is tipped to make it to the squad as per a few former Indian cricketers.

Spinners: Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi

After missing out on the T20 World Cup, Indian spin twins, ‘Kulcha’ have made a roaring comeback in IPL 2022. While Chahal is leading the Purple cap race with 24 wickets, Kuldeep is on 20 wickets, his best IPL season so far. Bishnoi though has not picked too many wickets and still has that element of mystery about him.

Pacers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Umesh Yadav, T Natarajan, Avesh Khan

The BCCI can add a few experienced bowlers and stack up the pace attack with a lot of variation and experience. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a consistent performer in the IPL, Umesh Yadav has made a case for his selection for the T20 World Cup with his recent performances. Natarajan can add that left-arm variation while Umran Malik and Avesh Khan can add their raw pace. While Umran is almost a guaranteed selection among the names, the other four bowlers are good in their own rights as well.

Also Read: IND vs SA: 5 New Players Who Can Be Added To India’s Squad vs South Africa