Team India will take on South Africa in a 5-match T20I series beginning on 10th June 2022. The program for the T20I series is as under:
First T20I- tenth June 2022 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, India;
2nd T20I– 12th June 2022 at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack(the city in Odisha, India);
3rd T20I– 14th June 2022 at VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam(City in Andhra Pradesh, India);
4th T20I– 17th June 2022 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot(City in Gujarat, India);
5th T20I– 19th June 2022 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru(City in Karnataka, India)
Although resting the similar Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and the absence of Ravindra Jadeja due to an injury, the selectors have called a strong 18-member team to challenge the Proteas.
The team is as under:
KL Rahul (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC/WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Venkatesh Iyer, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan.
18-member #TeamIndia squad for the upcoming five-match Paytm T20I home series against South Africa.#INDvSA @Paytm pic.twitter.com/tK90uEcMov
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 22, 2022
While some performers have accepted themselves in the T20I team, a few minors have been included in the team members’ back of awesome performances in the IPL season.
On this note, here is the WONK analysis of the Men in Blue.
# Strengths-Expert spin bowling department and presence of experienced finishers in the team
Expert spin attack:
The KL Rahul-led team has 3-experienced spinners who have tasted victory in T20I cricket. Yuzvendra Chahal, the Purple Cap winner in TATA IPL 2022, is possible to be the lead spinner for India in the T20I series against South Africa. Chahal has been the most favorable bowler to perform T20Is for his country, picking up 68 wickets at an average of 25.33.
Kuldeep Yadav has had a piece of luck in TATA IPL 2022 and has made a comeback to the Indian T20I team. The partnership between Chahal and Yadav has been profitable in the past, and the duo has been vital for the national team in the middle overs of a T20I match. Yadav has an unusual average of 14.75 in 24 T20Is and has picked up 41 wickets. Yadav could be the X-factor for India in the series.
Axar Patel has tasted victory for the national team in the limited chances he has gotten in T20Is. If given a possibility, he can control the flow of runs in the middle order. He has 13 T20I wickets to his term at an average of 27.30. He is a handy batsman who reduces the demand and can provide ending touches to the innings.
Presence of experienced finishers:
The Men in Blue have 3-finishers who can accelerate in death overs. Hardik Pandya has made a comeback to the Indian T20I team after having a superb TATA IPL 2022. Pandya was extraordinary with the bat in TATA IPL 2022 and secured 487 runs from 15 innings at an average of 44.27. Pandya will look to copy his performances at the international level and set up a permanent place on the Indian T20I team.
Dream11 GameChanger of the Final between @gujarat_titans and @rajasthanroyals is Hardik Pandya.#TATAIPL #DreamBig @Dream11 #GTvRR pic.twitter.com/nCJtZ9T7VW
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 29, 2022
Dinesh Karthik averaged 55 with the bat, had a strike rate of 183.33 in TATA IPL 2022, and made his return to the Indian team. Karthik will look to perform attacking cricket from the onset and provide the complete finishing touches in the killing overs.
Rishabh Pant is another performer who can accelerate in killing overs. He is yet to make a call for himself in T20Is, where he has a strike rate of 126.01 from 37 innings. He has been called the vice-skipper for the series against South Africa and will look to affect everyone with his batting style in the T20Is.
# Weakness – Untrained fast bowling department
Five fast bowlers, namely Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Harshal Patek, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep Singh have been nominated to the T20I team. Apart from Kumar, the remaining 4-bowlers are yet to find their feet in international cricket and have been assigned to the team based on an awesome TATA IPL 2022.
Malik and Singh are still to make their debut in international cricket. Harshal Patel has performed only 8-T20Is to date and has picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 8.52.
Avesh Khan has performed only 2-T20Is to date and has picked up two wickets in the said matches.
Though the bowlers noted hereinabove have been unusual in TATA IPL 2022, they are yet to create an opinion on the international stage.
# Opportunities- Young Indian batsmen can create themselves in the team
The future T20I series will provide the perfect probability for young Indian batsmen to make a title for themselves on the international stage.
Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad did not absolutely set the stage on fire in TATA IPL 2022. The duo will look to secure runs at the top of the order and make it to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup in Australia end of this year.
Shreyas Iyer has had an outstanding 2022 with the bat in T20Is and has secured 229 runs from 4-innings, only being dismissed once. He will prove to be a vital performer in the middle order and will look to guide the young Indian player.
Deepak Hooda has an awesome TATA IPL 2022 and has secured 451 runs at an average of 32.21. If given a possibility, he will look to grab it with both hands and look to affect on the big stage.
# Threat: A strong South African team
South Africa has appointed a strong team to take on India in the T20I series. Many of the performing players have to perform in TATA IPL 2022 and have acclimated to the Indian conditions.
The Proteas have a huge bowling line-up comprising Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jansen, Wayne Parnell, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj, and Lungi Ngidi. The stated bowlers have tasted victory against India in the past and could challenge the young batters at the top of the order.
A similar to Aiden Markram and David Miller have tasted victory in TATA IPL 2022 and will look to carry on their grand form.
Though the Men in Blue will begin as favorites, South Africa cannot be taken lightly and could challenge India in the series.
Also read- TATA IPL 2022: 5 Biggest player who flopped this season