Indian Cricketers Who Deserve To Be Picked In The Squad For The Series Against South Africa: Indian white-ball squads look pretty settled at the moment and not all the players performing in the domestic circuit are being able to find a spot for themselves either in the 50-over or 20-over squad of India. However, if the selectors decide to rest a couple of seniors for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa, a few domestic performers might be picked in the squad.
Here are the 3 players who deserve to be picked in the squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa –
Surya Kumar Yadav
Surya Kumar is an out and out middle-order batsman and is someone who can perfectly fit into the finisher’s role, batting at no. 6. The Mumbai right-hander has been piling on the runs in all formats for his stateside but has somehow not impressed the Indian selectors enough to give him a chance.
Surya Kumar can find boundaries playing conventional shots as well, but he has got this ability to manipulate the field and can surprise the bowlers with creative shots. He is one of the very few players in India who can scoop the ball over the head of the keeper and reverse lap a fast bowler over the head of the short third man fielder. Surya is one of the most underrated cricketers in India and he deserves a chance before its too late.
Nitish Rana
With Rishabh Pant having fallen off the pecking order in recent times, the Indian middle-order doesn’t have a left-hander at the moment, which makes the Indian batting a bit one-dimensional.
If there is a left-hander in the middle order, he can go after the left-arm spinner or a leg spinner and disrupt the opposition’s plan, something which might be difficult to do for a right-hander, especially on surfaces where the ball is gripping and turning.
Nitish Rana, being a left-hander, can add another dimension to the Indian middle order. The former Delhi captain, who plays for KKR in the IPL, has been in good form in the domestic circuit.
Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill has been a part of India’s Test match set-up in the last few months, but he has not been given a chance in 50-over cricket. He made his debut in 50-over cricket before the World Cup last year and was dropped after a couple of failures.
Gill is a versatile player and can bat at different positions. While he is a natural opener, he has batted at no. 5 and no. 6 positions for his IPL franchise KKR and he has done justice to those positions as well. Gill has got a big range of shots. He can play from the cover to the square leg region, covering almost 80% area of the ground.
India can try Gill at no. 3 if Virat Kohli is not available to play in the series against South Africa. Gill is currently with the Indian Test squad in New Zealand and has not found a place in the Indian XI for the first Test match in Wellington.
Shubhman is one of the most promising cricketers in India and it would be interesting to see when will the national selectors give him a long ‘go-ahead’ at the international level.
