Eyes on newbies and combinations as India take on Proteas in Durban

The Indian cricket bandwagon continues. In their juggernaut of playing one series after the other, they now move to South Africa for a 'compact' tour of three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests (in chronological order). The T20 leg is the most crucial one as it intensifies the Men in Blue’s 2024 T20 World Cup preparations. 

With only six T20Is left before the showpiece event, India have multiple spots to decide and prepare for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli phasing out of the format. There is almost a palpable feeling that a few slots will be filled based on one or two good performances, making it a vital series for the management and players involved. The fortunes can change in the blink of an eye. 

South Africa have only this series at hand before they have to announce the World Cup squad. Quinton de Kock, their best batter in the recently concluded ODI World Cup, will miss the series. Despite being nationally contracted, he is busy playing for Delhi Bulls in the T10 League and will then appear for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League. There are also calls for Faf du Plessis’s return, but it is still a little far-fetched prospect. 

For now, they will have the youngster Matthew Breetzke set to open the innings alongside Reeza Hendricks in the absence of Temba Bavuma. They have two debutants in store, Nandre Burger and Ottniel Baartman. Meanwhile, they will have their eyes set on the batting returns of Tristan Stubbs and Donovan Ferreira, as well as their bowling form that has blown hot and cold throughout the year. 

Both sides will then rely on their franchise competitions to pick the squads - SA20 for South Africa and IPL for India - but the factor of playing together as a unit will be missing. Thus, it is just ‘another’ T20I series with great implications from a long-eyed vision of the T20 World Cup seven months down the line. 

Things to watch out for

Spots up for grabs?

Unlike South Africa who are certain to welcome a few players up top when the World Cup arrives, India are yet to decide on the future of Rohit and Kohli in the shortest format. That opens a few stops in the top order. 

With Shubman Gill returning and set to open, the Indian management will have to pick one between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal to be his opening partner. Gaikwad and Jaiswal played all five games against Australia, impressing in different capacities. There will also be eyes on Shreyas Iyer, who is a potential replacement for Kohli at three. 

In a more gripping fight, picking one between Ishan Kishan and Jitesh Sharma will be a real head-scratcher. Kishan is more experienced but has minuscule chances of playing at his preferred spot in the top order. Jitesh, in the handful of chances at his disposal, has shown he can add value in the middle order with impactful cameos. Hence, with the spot open for Jitesh at five, Kishan may start the series on the bench.

ALSO READ: The importance of Jitesh Sharma in India's jigsaw puzzle

Moving to the bowlers, the spot for only one wrist spinner put Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav in another interesting bout. Bishnoi, the highest wicket-taker in the India-Australia series, is also the number-one-ranked bowler in the format. However, Kuldeep has been India’s first-choice spinner in white-ball cricket. 

Therefore, India’s combination will be interesting to see heading into the first T20I. 

Jadeja’s return

Ravindra Jadeja is set to feature in India’s T20I side after 467 days. He comes in as the vice-captain and at the expense of the in-form Axar Patel. In between, the left-hander had a good IPL 2023 with the ball, averaging 21.6 for his 20 wickets at 17.1 balls apiece. 

Both the average and the strike rate were the best for Jadeja in a year in IPL. But his batting has been a point of discussion, touching various highs and lows. 

ALSO READ: Back at the expense of in-form Axar, Jadeja needs to justify his T20I selection

For a team that has jostled hard at creating batting depth, Jadeja’s batting will be a key takeaway from the series. 

Ground Details and Conditions

South Africa has hosted 15 T20I matches this year, out of which three have been hosted by the Kingsmead, Durban - all during the three-match T20I series between South Africa and Australia in August/September. 

It was a high-scoring series, with an average run-rate of 9.7. The first innings scores read 164, 190 and 226. South Africa lost all three games due to their poor bowling. The South African bowlers averaged 45 runs per wicket as compared to 18 from Australia. 

Spinners have been rather ineffective at this venue. They have picked only 26.3% of the wickets in these three games while going at 9.9 runs per over. Both sides can play two spinners each. 

Meanwhile, there are high chances of rain during the match time. 

Tactical Insights

> If South Africa play Tabraiz Shamsi, they would like to keep him away from Shreyas Iyer. In overall T20s, Iyer has churned out 63 runs against Shamsi off 33 deliveries at the cost of only one dismissal. 

> Left-arm orthodox spinners are Aiden Markram’s kryptonite. In 52 T20 innings since 2022, Markram has been dismissed nine times by left-arm finger spin, averaging only 11 at a strike rate of 103.1. Thus, Jadeja becomes an excellent option to subvert the South African skipper. 

Probable XIs

India: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal/Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav ( c ), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar/Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi/Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram ( c ), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs/Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo/Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi/Lizaad Williams