IND vs SA 1st T20I Playing 11: India’s South Africa tour is going to start with the first T20 match to be played today i.e. on 10th December. This match will be played at Kingsmead in Durban. Under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian team will have its eyes on defeating South Africa after Australia, although this challenge is not going to be easy for them. Surya is going to face many tough tests in this series, one of which is regarding the playing 11 of the first T20. Many senior players like Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill have returned to the T20 team for the South Africa tour.
In such a situation, it will be interesting to see how the captain fits him in the playing 11. With the return of senior players, some young players are certain to lose their cards. In such a situation, let’s take a look at the possible playing 11 of India vs South Africa’s first T20-
Shubman Gill can open with Yashasvi Jaiswal
In the T20 series against Australia, the Indian innings was started by the pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rituraj Gaikwad. Gaikwad was the highest run-scorer in the series with 223 runs, while Yashasvi destroyed the bowlers in the powerplay with an excellent strike rate of 168.29. With the return of Shubman Gill, one of these cards can be cut.
In such a situation, most of the possibilities are for Gaikwad to be out. Actually, with Yashasvi being in the team, India will get a combination of left and right in the opening and he can also help India reach big scores by giving them an aggressive start. The styles of Gill and Gaikwad are almost similar, hence Yashasvi gets a place in the playing 11.
Will Ishaan Kishan fit in number 3? But how?
Recently, some such reports came out in which it was said that the team management is considering playing Ishan Kishan at number 3 in the T20 World Cup in place of Virat Kohli. If there are such possibilities, then Kishan will have to be given a chance to bat at this number from this series, but looking at the Indian squad, it does not seem that Ishan Kishan will get a chance at number 3. Kishan had performed brilliantly while batting in this position in the first three T20s against Australia.
However, after the arrival of Shreyas Iyer, Kishan was made to sit. Iyer is also a part of the team on the South Africa tour. In such a situation, whether Kishan will be able to replace him or not is a big question. If Shreyas bats at number-3 then Kishan will not get a chance before number-6. The fourth and fifth positions are fixed for Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh. But Ishan Kishan does not fit at number 6, in such a situation Jitesh Sharma may also get a chance in his place.
Ravindra Jadeja’s comeback
Ravindra Jadeja is returning to T20 cricket after a long break. He played his last T20 match last year in Asia Cup 2022. He has been chosen as the vice-captain of the team for this series, hence he gets a place in the direct playing 11. By not choosing Akshar Patel and giving preference to Ravindra Jadeja, the selectors have made it clear that Jadeja is part of the team’s plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
How will the bowling attack be?
Talking about the Indian bowling attack, the team will not lack experience with the arrival of Mohammad Siraj. During this time, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar can support Siraj so that the balance of pace bowling is maintained. It remains to be seen who among Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi will handle the spin department along with Ravindra Jadeja.
Most of the chances are for Bishnoi to play because recently he was awarded the Player of the Series award for his excellent performance against Australia. The team management would like to boost the confidence of the young player by giving him a continuous opportunity in the playing 11.
Ind Playing 11: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Rinku Singh, Ishan Kishan/Jitesh Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
