IND vs SA: The five-match T20I series between hosts India and visitors South Africa will kick start on June 9 in Delhi; the matches come thick and fast as the series will conclude on June 19 in Bangalore.
Both the boards have announced their squads. Where India have taken this as an opportunity to rest captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami ahead of the Test match in England, the Proteas have arrived with a full-strength squad aiming for their first series win in India across formats since 2015.
India squad for IND vs SA: KL Rahul (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain, wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.
South Africa squad for IND vs SA: Temba Bavuma (C), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen and Marco Jansen.
Here are the 5 main South African threats for the Indian team in the IND vs SA T20Is:
Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock simply likes scoring against India – 7 of his 23 international hundreds have come against India. Now, coupling him with his sizzling IPL 2022 form makes him South Africa’s biggest match-winner with the bat currently.
Opening for Lucknow Super Giants, de Kock smashed 508 runs – only behind Buttler and KL Rahul – in the IPL 2022, along with the highest score in the tournament of 140*. Even if he doesn’t score big, de Kock ensures more often than not to give a rapid start to his team in the IND vs SA T20I series.
David Miller
David Miller turned the clock in the IPL 2022 back to his best days. Playing a significant role in Gujarat Titans’ title victory, Miller recorded 481 runs at an average of 68 with a strike rate of 142; his gameplay against spinners was largely impressive. One of the most experienced campaigners on the South African side, Miller is believed to be batting at his best.
Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada will march the bowling attack for the Proteas. He, too, is coming off a terrific IPL 2022 season, where the Punjab Kings seamer snapped up 23 wickets in 13 matches – the most for a fast bowler in the tournament. Whether it’s the new ball or in the death overs, Rabada can – and did in the IPL – make inroads at any stage of the game.
Aiden Markram
Usually an opener, Aiden Markram has found his groove in the middle-order for South Africa in the T20 World Cup last year and continued his form in that position in the IPL 2022 for SRH – scoring 381 runs at 47 while striking at 140.
Markram averaged over 40 in both middle and death overs in the IPL 2022 and also struck at over 200 in the last four overs. Against an inexperienced Indian bowling attack, Markram could prove a handful to be controlled with his range hitting. He also offers a handy off-spin option.
Tabraiz Shamsi
Tabraiz Shamsi is the top-ranked ICC T20I bowler, by a distance and has been at this position for a while now. The chinaman has a number of variations, including a sharp googly.
Last year, 2021, Shamsi snapped up 36 wickets in 22 matches, his average of 13.36 and economy of 5.7 last year amongst the best a bowler has had across an entire year. He is expected to prove difficult to score against for the Indian batters.
