New Delhi: Four months after beating South Africa to win the T20 World Cup, India would carry its happy memory in their four-match T20I series that begins at Kingsmead on Friday.
India won by seven runs in Barbados for their second triumph after which both teams have made a lot of changes in their squads.
India have only four members of their T20 World Cup winning team in the squad. Skipper Suraykumar Yaadav is one of them, as is Hardik Panday, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh.
Majority of the team’s top names are busy preparing for their five-match Test series for the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia that begins from November 22 in Perth.
South Africa will be without star pacers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and batter-wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.
Rabada and Nortje were South Africa’s most succesful bowlers in the T20 World Cup but are missing because of congested schedules.
“The worlds of short-form cricket, leagues and Test matches are starting to encroach on each other. We’re seeing that with other sides around the world having to field two different squads,” South Africa coach Rob Walter said on Wednesday, as quoted by AFP.
“We want to be in the same position and know that we’re strong enough to win on both fronts.
“Cricket is in a tenuous position and it’s going to take some seriously strong management to make sure that we look after our players first and foremost so that when they do play for South Africa, they’re there to deliver their best performances.”
South Africa though have big-hitters David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj, all of whom were missing when South Africa lost to Ireland in their most recent T20I in Abu Dhabi in September.
India have brought on their fringe players in the tour, giving a chance to uncapped trio of Ramandeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak and Yash Dayal to make an impression before the Indian Premier League 2025 mega auctions in Jeddah on November 24-25.
The squads:
South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Patrick Kruger, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton (wk) , Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla (third and fourth matches only) and Tristan Stubbs.
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan , Yash Dayal.
IND vs SA, 1st T20I begins at 8.30pm IST on Friday
Live telecast on Sports 18 HD, live streaming on JioCinema app.
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