The five-match T20I series between South Africa vs. India will begin on June 9. Rohit Sharma, the normal skipper, has been rested for this series, hence KL Rahul, the limited-overs vice-captain, will serve as the Men in Blue’s leader. However, a redesigned Indian team that combines youth and experience will be hoping to win a fourth straight bilateral T20I series at home.
South Africa has identified a core group of players who could aid the Proteas in winning their maiden ICC championship with 10 games remaining. For the forthcoming series, India has rested several of their star players, but South Africa is traveling to India with a full squad.
Rising batting star Tristan Stubbs receives his first national call-up for the South African team, which is coached by Temba Bavuma, while speed demon Anrich Nortje is back.
After the Proteas blanked India in a three-match ODI series at home in January, South Africa will want to maintain their advantage over India in white-ball cricket.
Here are five South African players that could make a difference in the forthcoming series, with the long-term goal of competing in the T20 World Cup and the short-term goal of winning the series in India.
Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh, two rising stars in the world of speed, may make their debuts in the future series. In addition, finishers Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik would be returning to the national team.
For their amazing efforts in the IPL 2022, all of these players have received rewards. Here are five Indian players that are predicted to have a major impact during the home series, without further ado.
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1. KL Rahul
KL Rahul had a standout IPL 2022, both at bat and on the field. The Lucknow Super Giants, a brand-new team, were headed by him and advanced to the playoffs. He concluded the season as the second-highest run-scorer and has now reached 500 runs in a season five times in a row. The selectors decided on Rahul despite rumors that either Hardik Pandya or Shikhar Dhawan would captain India in this series.
Rahul scored 616 runs for an average of 51.33 and a strike rate of 135.38 to win the event. More significantly, he took LSG into the playoffs before RCB eliminated them in the Eliminator.
The three-match ODI series in South Africa earlier this year saw India completely destroyed under the leadership of the Karnataka cricketer, so he would be eager to put things right.
2. Hardik Pandya
When he put up a powerful all-around performance in the IPL 2022 championship match against Rajasthan Royals, taking 3/17 with the ball and patiently making 34 with the bat, Hardik Pandya provided a suitable rebuttal to his detractors. Concerns regarding the Gujarat Titans captain’s fitness, particularly with regard to bowling with his right-arm pace, were prevalent.
But Pandya was successful in leading his team to their first IPL championship in front of Ahmedabad supporters. He finished the season with 487 runs in 15 games at an average of 44.27, four half-centuries, and eight wickets in addition to raking up runs. He is brimming with confidence going into the T20I series against South Africa. There’s no disputing that Pandya and his whole performance will be in the spotlight.
3. Karthik Dinesh
Dinesh Karthik didn’t simply knock on the selection doors—he blasted them open with his brilliant, reliable performances for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2022 as a specialist finisher. Karthik, who was also named the IPL’s “Super Striker of the Season” with a mind-blowing strike rate of 183, once again showed his finishing prowess by scoring 242 runs at a 220 strike rate in the last overs.
Karthik would hope to emulate his IPL 2022 performances in the Indian jersey after being called up to the T20I team to play South Africa and earn a ticket on the journey to Australia for the Men’s T20 World Cup later in the year.
4. Umran Malik
All eyes were on the Sunrisers Hyderabad pace machine from Jammu, which was regularly exceeding 150 kph in every game. Despite Lockie Ferguson’s 157.3 kmph thunderbolt winning the prize for the tournament’s fastest ball, Umran’s raw velocity won over Indian fans.
Umran has taken 22 wickets in his first full IPL season, with his finest performance coming against the eventual champion Gujarat Titans (5/25). It remains to be seen if Malik can continue to keep the speed gun busy against South Africa with better control on line and length despite the support of all the game’s legends.
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5. Arshdeep Singh
Similar to Malik, Arshdeep Singh is a promising pacer who inspired a lot of excitement during the IPL 2022. By constantly hitting the block hole and nailing yorkers, the 23-year-old had become Punjab Kings’ go-to bowler in the final overs.
As a result of everything said above, Arshdeep concluded the season with a 7.58 death-overs economy rate in addition to 10 wickets and best bowling stats of 3/37. Arshdeep, a member of the India U19 World Cup winning team in 2018, would be eager to continue his strong play against South Africa from the IPL 2022.
