On Wednesday (18th September), the hosts India will face South Africa in the second T20I of the three-match T20I series at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium (Mohali).
The opening T20I of this series had no result as rain washed out that game entirely. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium (Dharamshala) was hosting that game.
India still haven’t won against South Africa in the home T20I. Virat Kohli-led Indian team will try to end this wait on Wednesday.
Read More: India vs South Africa 2019: 2nd T20I, Mohali – Match Prediction
Here is the predicted XI of the Indian national cricket team for the upcoming Mohali T20I against South Africa.
Rohit Sharma
Indian limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma is in great form as an opener in limited-overs cricket. The leading T20I run-scorer Rohit scored 24 and 67 runs during India’s last T20I series against Windies in the USA and West Indies tour in early last month.
Shikhar Dhawan
The left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan is the perfect partner of Rohit Sharma on the cricket pitch. After the League Stage game against Australia, Dhawan missed out the remainder of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 due to the finger fracture. He returned to international cricket during India’s recently limited-overs series against the Windies. Though he struggled in that limited-overs series, later he performed well for India A. While he played the last two games of the five-match home List A series against South Africa A, he scored 52 and 51 runs respectively.
Virat Kohli (Captain)
Indian captain Virat Kohli is in the good form in every format. Though he has recently failed to convert many 50s to 100s in the longer-formats, it is not going to affect in this T20I series. In the last T20I series against Windies, Kohli scored 19, 28 and 59 runs respectively.
Shreyas Iyer
The 24-year-old Shreyas Iyer played his last T20I match on 24th December 2017 against Sri Lanka at Mumbai. He has played six T20Is till the date. During the last month’s Caribbean tour, Iyer featured in the three-match ODI series and impressed with his performances. In that ODI series, Iyer scored 71 and 65 runs respectively.
Rishabh Pant (wk)
In the absence of the highly experienced wicketkeeper MS Dhoni, the 21-year-old Rishabh Pant is handling the wicketkeeper-batsman role. The youngster is a highly talented cricketer but he is currently struggling to perform consistently as a batsman. His poor shot selections are consistently destroying his good starts. It is going to be a vital series for Pant where he has to develop his performances. The left-hander scored 0, 4 and 65* respectively in the last T20I series against Windies in last August.
Read More: I Am Happy To Help Rishabh Pant – Wriddhiman Saha
Krunal Pandya
The 28-year-old spin-bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya won the Player of the Series award at the end of the last T20I series against Windies in the previous month. Krunal has utilised the early limited opportunities very well and he is now ready to face bigger opportunities.
Hardik Pandya
The younger brother of Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya hasn’t played a cricket match since India’s semifinal defeat against New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on 9th July. He was in full rest during India’s last tour in the USA and West Indies. Now, the 25-year-old pace-bowling all-rounder is ready to return to the game.
Deepak Chahar
The 27-year-old pacer Deepak Chahar featured in the last T20I of the three-match T20I series against Windies in last month. He was in remarkable form in that game as he had the bowling figures of 3-1-4-3. Undoubtedly, he won the Player of the Match award as India comfortably won that game. He has played two T20Is till the date.
Rahul Chahar
The cousin of Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar has played only T20I till the date as he made T20I debut during the last T20I of the three-match series against Windies in last month. At the end of that match, his bowling figures were 3-0-27-1. Some experts believe that the leg-spinner has the potential to play international cricket for a long time.
Washington Sundar
The 19-year-old off-spinner Washington Sundar has played 10 T20Is and has picked up 12 wickets. He is a versatile spinner who can also bowl with the fresh new ball. In the last T20I series against Windies, Sundar took two wickets in three matches.
Navdeep Saini
The 26-year-old right-arm fast bowler Navdeep Saini made international debut during India’s last T20I series against Windies in the last month. He won the Player of the Match award on his T20I debut after managing the incredible bowling figures of 4-1-17-3. Saini played all the three matches of that T20I series and finished as the most wicket-taker (five wickets) in that series.