In the middle of a heat wave, India returns to international play after two months of IPL 2022, as India begins World Cup preparation against South Africa for the Men’s T20 World Cup continues on Thursday with the first of a five-match series against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
For the hosts, the next ten days of T20I action against a full-strength Proteas will be an opportunity to put a new-look top-order, free of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, to the test, as well as see how the returning duo of Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya fit into India’s plans in the shortest format of the game as India begins World Cup preparation.
Karthik had not represented India in T20Is since February of this year. However, his performances as a specialist finisher for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2022, where he scored 242 runs at a strike rate of 220 in the death overs phase, opened the way for a three-year comeback into the national squad.
Karthik, Pandya in focus as India begins World Cup preparation against South Africa: Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid, the Indian team’s head coach, has intimated that Karthik will continue to play the specialty finisher role that he did at RCB as India begins World Cup preparation. “It’s obvious that he’s made a comeback based on the talents he’s demonstrated in a specific phase of the game. Dinesh has been able to demonstrate remarkable consistency in that backend for the past two to three years.
“In every squad he’s played for, he’s been able to make an impact.” I don’t think it’s any different, and that’s why he was chosen. He’s been selected to bat in that position to see whether he can repeat his previous performances for India.”
Pandya, on the other hand, is expected to return to the Indian team as India begins World Cup preparation after missing the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021. Pandya played primarily as a hitter at the time, with only a few overs bowled in the Super 10 stage, due to worries over him bowling his full quota of overs.
Pandya, on the other hand, turned a corner in IPL 2022, scoring 487 runs at an average of 44.27 in 15 matches, including four half-centuries, while also picking up eight wickets and helping Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title. Now that he’s back in India, the all-rounder is full of confidence as he prepares for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa and as India begins World Cup preparation.
However, after achieving success as an all-rounder, particularly as a number four batter, for the Titans in the IPL 2022, Dravid hinted that Pandya might play a different role for India. “It’s wonderful to have him back.” Hardik Pandya is a superb batsman and bowler when he is at his best. In the past, we’ve seen this with India. He has obviously been successful in white-ball cricket and has been in excellent form in this IPL.
“Without giving too much away about the batting orders before the game starts, sometimes the roles you play in a franchise match, the roles you play for India… but sometimes you have to play different roles for different sides.”
Despite Dravid’s praise for Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh’s enthusiasm, it appears that India will stay with the speed combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Avesh Khan for the first match. There may be a toss-up between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan over who begins with captain KL Rahul, as well as between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav over Yuzvendra Chahal, a sure spinner as India begins World Cup preparation.
Squads:
India: KL Rahul (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain & wicketkeeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs.