Suryakumar & Co. will be high on confidence coming off a 3-0 win against Bangladesh; SA will be looking to add a touch of revenge after losing to India in the T20 World Cup final; Men in Blue will look to fine-tune their approach for the format
As India firmly embraces a transition phase, a clutch of second line stars such as Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma will be hoping for a breakaway series in the four T20Is against South Africa, starting with the first contest here on Friday.
It is imperative for them to shed the tag of sidekicks and establish themselves as the first-choice players in this format. The recent home T20I series against Bangladesh was a precursor. Samson received a chance to open consistently and slammed a 47-ball 111.
In the post-Rohit Sharma era in T20Is, Samson would like to further buttress his claim for a regular opening slot with a few fruitful outings against the Proteas.
Tilak Varma has some what fallen off the radar after making a solid beginning against the West Indies in August 2023.
The selectors will also closely monitor how a new-look pace bowling unit – Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, V. Vyshak and Yash Dayal – fare against South Africa.
The seniors in the side like skipper Suryakumar Yadav, all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel, the only member from the Test side here, will be hoping for a strong outing so that India can apply some balm over the wounds from its recent home Test series defeat against New Zealand.
South Africa will be looking to add a touch of revenge to the series after losing to India in the T20 World Cup final in June, the last time these two sides met.
The teams (from): India: Suryakumar Yadav (Capt.), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, V. Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (Capt.), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Patrick Kruger, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla (3rd and 4th T20Is), and Tristan Stubbs. Match starts at 8:30 p.m. IST.