The current World T20 champions India are set to face South Africa for a four-match T20I series. Both teams will meet for the first time after the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados on June 29. Hosts South Africa will look to avenge the World Cup final defeat while Men in Blue aim to continue their winning run in the shorter format of the game. The first T20I is scheduled to be played at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban on November 8.
India posted a mammoth 297/6 in the last T20I they played against Bangladesh in Hyderabad on October 12. Now, the visitors will look to bring another run fest against the Proteas. However, it will be interesting to see which players can make it into the final playing XI for the first T20I in Durban.
India’s probable XI for 1st T20I vs South Africa
In the following listicle, we will look at the probable Indian XI for the first T20I against South Africa.
Openers: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma
India are likely to continue with the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. Samson shut all the noises regarding his place in the T20I side with a fiery hundred in the last match against Bangladesh as an opener. On the other hand, Abhishek is also known for giving flying starts as an opener in the shorter format.
Middle Order: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav will continue to bat at number three for India, while Tilak Varma is likely to make his return to the Indian side after 10 months. Tilak can be seen batting at number four in place of injured Riyan Parag. After that, Rinku Singh can be seen batting as a role of a finisher in the first T20I in Durban
All-Rounders: Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel
Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel are likely to continue playing as all rounders in Indian playing in the first T20I against South Africa in Durban. Both players can provide strength to batting with fierce batting and power-hitting abilities in the shorter format. Apart from that, Pandya can also play as third seamer while Axar can serve as a handy slow left-arm spinner and give crucial breakthroughs.
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi
In the bowling line up, India can go with fast bowlers like Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. On the other hand, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi will continue as spin bowlers. Arshdeep and Avesh can bowl the opening spell in the first T20I. On the other hand, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi can help in reducing the scoring rate with their bowling in the middle-overs.