India vs South Africa: India's Predicted Playing XI Against South Africa, South Africa Tour Of India 2022, 1st T20I

India face South Africa in a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022. This is their final international assignment ahead of the mega event. The first T20I will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on September 28, Wednesday. The next two matches will be played on October 2 (Guwahati) and October 4 (Indore).

The Men in Blue are heading into this series after winning a T20I series against Australia 2-1. They tracked down 188 in the decider on Sunday in Hyderabad to win the series. Virat Kohli (63) and Suryakumar Yadav (69) added a 104-run stand to anchor the chase for India. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was very happy with how his players played in the series. He spoke about the positives after the series win. Overall the Hitman now has 33 wins s India’s T20I skipper.

“It’s a special place. We have had great memories playing for India and when I played for Deccan Chargers as well. The biggest positive was different individuals stepping up and delivering. You feel good about it as a management. The margin of error in T20s is small. We took our chances, we were brave as well. Sometimes it doesn’t come off. There are areas to improve as well” said Rohit.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will not be a part of this series for India as he will be at the NCA for some conditioning-related work. Arshdeep Singh who missed the series against Australia will come back into the squad. The series gives the Indian team another opportunity to work on their death bowling concerns ahead of the mega event. In this article, we try and predict India’s likely playing XI for the first T20I against South Africa.

India vs South Africa: India’s Predicted Playing XI Against South Africa, South Africa Tour Of India 2022, 1st T20I

Rohit Sharma (C)

Rohit scored 66 in the three matches against Australia including a breezy 46 in the second T20I. There are no concerns on his form as such. He would like to get some more runs under his belt in this series.

Also Read: IND vs AUS: India Create History By Surpassing Pakistan And Becoming The Team To Win Most T20Is In A Calendar Year

KL Rahul

Rahul is being seen as the first-choice opener for the T20 World Cup. However, since his comeback, he has not consistently scored for Team India. He now has three more matches to regain his form.

Virat Kohli

Kohli scored a match-winning 63 in the final T20I against Australia. He batted with absolute class and looked in no trouble whatsoever. Kohli scoring key runs is a big positive for India.

Suryakumar Yadav

SKY ended the series against Australia with 115 runs from three games and the second-highest run-scorer. He too has looked in good touch with the bat and has played two key innings.

Rishabh Pant (WK)

With Hardik Pandya out of the series, this is India’s perfect opportunity to play Pant and Karthik together and decide on who can be India’s first-choice keeper for the T20n World Cup. The southpaw can slot in at five. Both Pant and Karthik are in India’s T20 World Cup squad.

Dinesh Karthik

Karthik is by now Inda’s first-choice keeper for the T20 World Cup. He scored 10 off 2 balls to win the second T20I for India. He was unbeaten in the third T20I as well.

Axar Patel

Axar ended with 8 wickets in the series. He bowled economically in all the games and did not let the team feel the absence of Ravindra Jadeja.

Harshal Patel

Harshal had a tough series on his comeback. He managed to pick up just one wicket in the series. However, skipper Rohit Sharma is willing to back him and give him the long rope.

Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah also made a comeback in the series. He played the last two games and picked up just one wicket. He is expected to play all three games against South Africa to regain his rhythm with the ball.

Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep will be the third seamer in the playing XI. He was working on his conditioning in the Australia series. Against South Africa, he should be given all three matches to get enough game time.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal will be the specialist leg-spinner in the XI. Against Australia, he picked 1 for 22 in the decider on Sunday after having a tough time in the first two games. Overall, he picked two wickets in the series.

Also Read: South Africa tour of India 2022 Schedule, Squad List, T20, Schedule Venue, ODI, Venue, Team List, Tickets, ODI Schedule, Live Score, Live Telecast Channel In India, And Live Streaming Details