(Cricket news) The men in blue will be back in international action as they take on South Africa in a 5 match T20I series. It is pretty much a 2nd fiddle Indian team as majority of the 3 format players have been rested. The series could see a few new and some returning faces introduced for India as it is right after the IPL. The 5 T20Is will be played at Delhi, Cuttack, Vizag, Rajkot and Benguluru. India have won 12 consecutive T20I matches and they will break the World record if they win the next one in Delhi.
India's ideal playing XI:
Openers: KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan
A lot of questions have been asked about KL Rahul's intent and strike rate while batting. He has to answer those questions and being the captain he will definitely play. The Indian management has put their trust in Ishan Kishan and they're unlikely to change things in this series. Ruturaj Gaikwad who has been very unlucky with the lack of opportunities is the other option. There is a chance that all 3 of them will be in the side with Ishan sliding down at number 3.
Middle order: Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik
Shreyas Iyer is the ideal option at number 3 in absence of Virat Kohli. Iyer didn't have a particularly good IPL season but he had an incredible T20I series against Sri Lanka before that. Vice captain Rishabh Pant will be keen to perform well after a lackluster IPL. Dinesh Karthik is back in the squad and is likely to be inserted straight back into the XI. Rahul Dravid has already confirmed that Karthik will play a finisher's role which means that his batting position will depend on the situation. Pant and Karthik are equally capable of donning the gloves but the deputy skipper is more likely to do it. This Indian team has as many as 4 wicket keeping options which isn't normal in any sense. Deepak Hooda and Venkatesh Iyer are the two other options both of whom are bowling options as well but these 3 are likely to play.
All-rounders: Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya is back in the squad which is incredible news as he has been in incredible form throughout the IPL. It solves the whole 6th bowling option problem perfectly. Pandya's batting position will be under the scanner as he has batted at number 3 and number 4 for Gujarat Titans. Axar Patel had a good season with the ball but he was even better with the willow. In absence of Ravindra Jadeja he is the obvious choice as the spin bowling all-rounder. Deepak Hooda and Venkatesh are other all-round options. There is a chance that Axar Patel is dropped in favour of Venkatesh Iyer to go with the bowling combination of 2 seamers, 2 wrist spinners along with Pandya and Iyer.
Seam bowlers: Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan
Even though debutants Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik have got a call-up, these three have been in the mix for much longer. With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, it gives more opportunities for the other quicks to try and showcase their skills. The likelihood is that Rahul Dravid will try out all 5 of his fast bowling options throughout the series with different combinations but he should start with Harshal, Bhuvneshwar and Avesh in the 1st match.
Spinner: Yuzvendra Chahal
The IPL purple cap winner does have a stiff combination from Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav. Having said that, Chahal is almost undroppable at this moment in time. His performance in the IPL has just further cemented his place in the Indian side. The return of Hardik Pandya does give a chance for two wrist spinners to be in the team although Axar Patel's presence does make it very unlikely.
Bench: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
