SA vs IND 1st T20I Predicted XI: Shubman Gill to come in for Ruturaj Gaikwad in Durban?
India are all set to resume their preparation for the T20 World Cup with an exciting three-match series against South Africa. With a few of the World Cup stars returning, will we some big changes being made to the lineup from the previous outing against Australia?
In Short
- India will play three matches against South Africa
- The likes of Gill, Jadeja and Siraj return to the side
- South Africa could give a chance to some of the new names
India is all set to resume their preparations for the T20 World Cup 2024 with three matches against South Africa.
These will be three of the six matches India will be playing before the start of the ICC event in West Indies and the USA. After this, the Indian team have three matches against Afghanistan and then the players will be involved in the IPL.
India come into the contest on the back of their 4–1 series win over Australia and will also be welcoming some of their World Cup 2023 stars into the squad. Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav are among the ones back into the side.
South Africa have rested many of their big names for the series and also lost Lungi Ngidi had to pull out at the last moment on December 8 due to injury.
India squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, and Deepak Chahar.
South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (C), Ottniel Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee (1st and 2nd T20Is), Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen (1st and 2nd T20Is), Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Beuren Hendricks, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, and Lizaad Williams.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the predicted lineups for the match.
India vs South Africa Predicted lineups
The biggest question for India will be the openers for the match. Ruturaj Gaikwad was the highest run-getter in the series against Australia with 223 runs to his name including a magnificent hundred. However, with Gill set to return, it's a high posibility that the Indian star will be given the nod as he has only batted as an opener in his T20I career.
India will also welcome back Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja back with Axar Patel not selected for the squad and Deepak Chahar staying back home due to his father's illness.
Otherwise, the spine of the side can be expected to remain the same from the 5th T20I against Australia.
South Africa could be tempted to give Matthew Breetzke his debut and open the batting alongside Reeza Hendricks. Captain Aiden Markram could come in a bit early at No.3, followed by Heinrich Klaasen and Tristian Stubbs. The bowling lineup is expected to be a strong one with Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj to lead the pack.
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram (C), Heinrich Klaasen, Tristian Stubbs, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi