IND vs SA T20I preview: India must look to get Rishabh Pant back in playing XI vs Proteas

After the disappointing run in Asia Cup 2022, the 2-1 series win vs Australia would have done India a lot of good. And now they move straight into another tough series vs the touring South Africans. These are going to be three really good games for India to play against this South African side.

SA have got a really good experience, particularly with the bowling side and that is going to test the Indian batting unit. You have got Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dwaine Pretorius, Lungi Ngigi and Keshav Maharaj. That is a really, really a good side to test yourselves going into the World Cup.

India must get Rishabh Pant in

Even after the series win against Aussies, there are still a couple of things where India needs to ‘dot the I’s and cross the T’s’. One of them is Rishabh Pant. I cannot imagine an Indian side without him in the playing XI. I think he has got to play and bat at No 5. My thoughts on Axar Patel have not changed since the last time so I am going to keep him in the side.

India are resting some players for the South Africa T20s. One of them is Hardik Pandya, that would create spot for someone in this series. Bhuvneshwar Kumar too is being rested and I think it’s fine to rest him but I would definitely pick him in the playing XI at the World Cup. Apart from him and Hardik I would pick a full-strength side vs SA. It is always a good idea to keep playing your best XI in these 4 or 5 games prior to a world event.

At the same time, it is good to see that Arshdeep Singh has got an opportunity to find his way into the final XI. I would still say India will play Bhuvneshwar ahead of him in the World Cup despite his expensive returns in the last few matches. But I have been a fan of Arshdeep for a while now and I am glad that India are still giving him a chance to prove that he can do the job, particularly at the death. All eyes will certainly be on him really to see how he can cause a last-minute selection dilemma.

Deepak Hooda misses out due to an injury, which is unfortunate for India as he too is going to World Cup. That is an understandable change in the squad.

India’s batting looks sorted. Rohit Sharma is back in form, Virat Kohli continues to look good and confident in the middle, more importantly. Suryakumar Yadav is in league of his own at the moment. The only concern seems to be the form of KL Rahul, who has had his struggles in Asia Cup and then against Aussies.

However, I still think, his lack of consistency does not lead to a selection dilemma. I don’t think so that him not getting runs prior to World Cup means he is not going to be in India’s XI for the first game in T20 World Cup. I believe some runs would definitely do wonders to his confidence, for his own good after being out of the game injured. As a batter, you just like to feel good at the
crease. Clearly, for me, I will play him in all 3 games vs SA and hope that he finds some form and rhythm.

South Africa, one of the best T20 sides in the world

As far as South Africans are concerned, their players have massive experience of playing in India, all thanks to the Indian Premier League. There’s David Miller, who could be a center of attraction in the upcoming series. He would be on everyone’s lips at the moment because of the way he played in IPL 2022 for Gujarat Titans.

South Africa’s bowling line up is absolutely fantastic. They are probably one of the best, if not the best bowling side in the world. Jansen, Rabada, Nortje and then you go further up to Shamsi and Maharaj. They have got bases covered everywhere to be a great threat.
Rassie van der Dussen is injured so he will be missed in the batting lineup. But there’s Quinton de Kock who fires at the top, Aiden Markram is in good form and then you have Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs to make it one of the most explosives batting lineups.

Skipper Temba Bavuma returns after a three-month layoff due to his elbow injury, which is good news but he also brings some selection headaches. It would be interesting to see what they do with Reeza Hendricks now, who has done remarkably well at the top of the order. He has got four fifties in last 5 games and the only time he did not score a fifty, it was a 42. Against India, SA need to ensure they get their top order right with Bavuma coming back.

These two sides have all the ingredients to make it a really good, hard-fought and competitive series, which is always a nice exercise, a welcome warm-up before a big world event.