Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has named his enjoying XI for the T20I collection opener against South Africa, scheduled to happen at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on June 9. Notably, in the absence of senior gamers like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the Men in Blue will compete with the Proteas in the five-match T20I collection beneath the management of KL Rahul.
Shastri picked some apparent selections however didn’t go together with the veteran batter Dinesh Karthik. Though, the cricketer-turned-commentator chosen Hardik Pandya for the finisher function. Not to say, Pandya had a good time in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, the place he led Gujarat Titans (GT) to title victory and likewise completed the match as the fourth highest run-getter.
For the opening place, Shastri went with Rahul together with Ruturaj Gaikwad and named Ishan Kishan as his quantity three. Following Kishan, Shastri picked Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Pandya.
“I think they will go with the guys they will want to see first – the Rahuls, the Ruturaj Gaikwads – maybe they will open. They will probably give Ishan (Kishan) a break in this game or bat him at three,” Shastri stated on the Star Sports present ‘Game Plan’.
“If you bat him (Ishan) at three, then it will be Shreyas (Iyer) at No. 4, (Rishabh) Pant at No. 5, and Hardik (Pandya) at No. 6,” he added.
Among the bowlers, the 60-year-old chosen Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel. He had a toss-up between Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh – each of them have obtained their maiden call-up to the Indian squad following a brilliant present in IPL 2022.
Ravi Shastri’s India XI for the first T20I against South Africa:
KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik, Harshal Patel.
