The middle order batter of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Ramandeep Singh, and the Karnataka fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak have earned their maiden call-ups for India for the four-match T20I series in South Africa, which is going to begin on November 08 at Kingsmead, Durban. The left-arm pacer of the side, Yash Dayal, who was part of the Chennai Test against Bangladesh, has also found a place.
The inclusion of Ramandeep in the squad of India has come on the back of his 125 runs at a strike rate of over 200, which was the fourth-best among all the batters who faced at least 50 deliveries in that season of the IPL. Vyshak, on the other hand, was one of the five emerging players to earn a pace-bowling contract from the BCCI.
Dayal was initially part of the India A squad for the tour of Australia but later was withdrawn and became a part of the South Africa T20Is. The middle-order batter of India in recent T20Is, Riyan Parag, has been a notable absence due to injury.
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The BCCI has reported that the Rajasthan Royals batter is undergoing rehab for a ‘chronic right shoulder injury’. The two fast bowlers and all-rounder, Mayank Yadav and Shivam Dube, were also unavailable due to injuries.
No Hardik Pandya in India’s T20I squad in South Africa
Mayank made an incredible debut during the recent home T20I series against Bangladesh but has found it tough with the constant injuries on his muscle issue, which ruled him out of the IPL 2024 after an excellent start in the tournament because of crossing the 150 km mark and winning two back to back ‘Player of the Match’ award.
The middle-order batter of the Blue Brigade, Tilak Verma, who replaced Dube in the Bangladesh series, has retained his place in the side. The left-arm spin all-rounder, Axar Patel, who was rested for the Bangladesh T20Is because of being part of India’s busy Test season at home, has made a return.
The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Jasprit Bumrah won’t be part of the T20I series, given they will feature in the five-match Test series in Australia, which starts a week later after the end of the T20I series.
Sanju Samson, who was the highest run-getter of the three-match T20I series with 150 runs in three innings at an average of 50 and a strike rate of over 200 with a 111-run knock in Hyderabad, will look to extend the good form.
It’s a bit surprising that the premier all-rounder of the side, Hardik Pandya, who also cracked 118 runs in three innings at an average of 59 and a strike rate of 222 and was seen to be practicing with the bat and ball recently, was left out without being given any reason.
India will be led by their regular leader, Suryakumar Yadav, who notched up 112 runs in that series at a strike rate of around 190. In the case of the bowling department, Varun Chakravarthy was the leading wicket-taker of the three innings with five scalps at an average of under 15 and an economy of 6.08.
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The first T20I game will start on November 08 in Durban before they fly to Gqeberha on November 10. The third game will be played on November 13 in Centurion, while two days later, the series will end at the Bull Ring, Johannesburg.
India Squad for T20I Series vs South Africa
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.