India’s tour of South Africa kickstarts on Sunday, 10 December, with the first of three T20Is to take place in Durban’s Kingsmead. Sunday’s fixture will be the first of six remaining T20Is that India play in the build-up to next year’s T20 World Cup, with a three-match series against Afghanistan sandwiched between the South Africa tour and the five-Test series against England. India’s road to the World Cup had begun in the five-match T20I series against Australia which the Suryakumar Yadav-led side won 4-1.
Thus every match that India play from hereon will be crucial for Team India in formulating strategies for the mega event next summer, whether it is trying out new players for certain positions or experimenting with different approaches.
There will be a few objectives that the SKY-led Indian team will be hoping to achieve in the T20I series against the Proteas starting Sunday, which we take a look at in greater detail below:
Hunting for a suitable No 3
Skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will not be featuring in the white-ball leg of the tour, having taken an extended leave after the ICC World Cup. While the BCCI continues to approach Rohit over the possibility of returning to T20I captaincy, they reportedly are not considering Kohli for the shortest format anymore and are looking for suitable candidates for the No. 3 slot.
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer had batted at that position during the recent T20I series against Australia and both looked in great touch — Kishan scoring back-to-back fifties and Iyer slamming a match-winning 37-ball 53 in the fifth T20I in Bengaluru.
There’s also skipper Surya who’s a possible candidate, given he’s had the most success at No. 3 since the semi-final of last year’s T20 World Cup, the last time Rohit and Kohli represented India in the shortest format.
Testing SKY’s leadership away from home
While Surya will be happy to bat at any position including Virat’s coveted No. 3, a key objective for him in the upcoming T20I series will be to further prove himself as a leader in the absence of Hardik Pandya.
Pandya had been leading the Men in Blue in the shortest format since the conclusion of last year’s T20 World Cup and had been seen by many as the successor to Rohit, at least in limited-overs cricket. The all-rounder, however, has been out of action since suffering an ankle injury during the World Cup group fixture against Bangladesh in Pune and wasn’t included in any of the squads for the South Africa tour.
Surya had led India to a commanding 4-1 series victory over Australia that took place right after the ICC World Cup, and his leadership skills have drawn praise from many an expert and fan as well as from some of his teammates such as Ravi Bishnoi. However, that series victory, which could have been a clean sweep had it not been for an outrageous century from Glenn Maxwell in Guwahati, was against an Australian team that was without several regulars and also on home soil.
Surya will face a real test of leadership against what should be a stronger South African team away from home. Should he prove himself here as well, he’ll give the board a solid alternative to both Rohit and Pandya as far as India’s T20I captain is concerned, and might just present himself as an ideal leader for the World Cup that starts in June.
Fine-tuning their attack
Senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the white-ball leg of the South Africa tour and returns to action in the Test series for which he has been named Rohit Sharma’s deputy. While he is expected to miss the T20Is against Afghanistan at home that take place right after the tour, he remains an automatic selection in the XI for the T20 World Cup.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj too has grown by leaps and bounds in recent months and has become a first-choice bowler in all three formats, and is expected to share the new ball with Bumrah in the tournament.
The question therefore for the Indian team is to find out who their third pacer could be. Arshdeep Singh brings variety with his left-arm action and was also impressive with his death bowling in the Australia T20Is, especially in Bengaluru, but has also leaked runs. Deepak Chahar also made a fine comeback from injury by collecting two wickets in the fourth T20I in Raipur, his first international game in nearly a year. Mukesh Kumar too has been having a fine run since his debut in the West Indies tour and was the pick of the bowlers in the victory in Bengaluru with figures of 3/32.
India face a similar question in the spin department, where Ravindra Jadeja remains an automatic pick as an all-rounder. While left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been India’s standout spinner this year, the T20I series against Australia belonged to Kuldeep’s right-arm version Ravi Bishnoi.
India might not always go with more than two spinners and will have to choose one of the two wrist-spin options, and the upcoming series will be an opportunity for Kuldeep and Bishnoi to assert their claim to the second spinner’s slot.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/AYOenuE
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