Follow UsShubman Gill and Hardik Pandya returned to India’s playing XI for the first T20I against South Africa at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on December 9 (Tuesday), but there was no room for Sanju Samson or Kuldeep Yadav in the final lineup.
Gill, India’s T20I vice-captain, had been sidelined since suffering a neck spasm while batting on Day 2 of the Eden Gardens Test. The injury ruled him out of the remainder of that Test, the Guwahati Test, and the entire ODI series against South Africa. Fully recovered now, Gill will reunite with Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram won the toss and, unsurprisingly, chose to bowl first considering the heavy dew expected later in the evening.
Pandya also made a comeback after missing nearly three months. His left quadricep injury - sustained during the Asia Cup in September - kept him out of the Australia tour and the ODIs versus South Africa.
Kuldeep Yadav’s omission appeared to be a tactical call, with India opting for a pace-heavy combination due to the dew factor. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are the frontline quicks, supported by fast-bowling all-rounders Pandya and Shivam Dube. Kuldeep and Axar Patel are the two spinners available, but only Axar made the XI.
Along with Samson and Kuldeep, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana are also missing out.
India’s Playing XI (1st T20I)
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa’s Playing XI
Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje
What The Captains Said
Aiden Markram
“We're going to bowl first. Expecting conditions to be good here in India. Quite a bit of dew around, might be a constant throughout the game but might get a bit worse later. (Quick turnaround time between formats) It's the way things work, lot of the games end up playing in the mind, need to get yourself in the right frame of mind.
“Fantastic build-up to the World Cup. From the conditions point of view, it's going to be great. You can’t simulate these, certainly not back in South Africa, so that’s a massive thing. And then obviously testing yourself against one of the better outfits in the world. Looking forward to that, seeing where we are. And we’ve got another couple of months after this to fine-tune things and hopefully be ready for that World Cup.”
Suryakumar Yadav
“I mean, we were a little confused looking at the wicket. Yesterday it was looking a little more greener, but today we were a little confused. But it’s okay, we’re happy to bat first. It gives a good challenge to put runs on the board and come out here and defend. I mean, see, it (dew factor) becomes a little challenging for the bowlers - you can’t run away from the fact. But going from here on, I think that’s going to remain for a really long time. It has been there for a very long time. So if we keep focusing on that, I think the main job will be in trouble in doing that. But yeah, let’s not think about it and have it as a challenge.
“We had a good series in Australia. Now we play five T20s against South Africa and then we play against New Zealand, so 15 good T20s. I think it’s good preparation. Same thing what we’ve been doing in the last few series: be fearless, enjoy the game, and be at it for the next three hours. It (selection) is a very good headache to have. But I’ll tell you the guys who are missing out: Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana.”
(Quotes sourced from Cricbuzz commentary)