It has been a great start for team India this new year 2020. India had a recent series with New Zealand, which lasted for six weeks, and did not have a great tour altogether. Despite downplaying the Kiwi’s in the T20I series, team India was not able to showcase the same performance in one-day internationals and test matches. All these are being talked about and analyzed when men in blue are all set for a face-off with South Africa for three-match ODI series, ahead of IPL 2020.
After analyzing the shorter formats of the matches which were played this year, the Indian coach Ravi Shastri and the Indian team captain were of the opinion that 50 over format of match was not relevant this year. In the meanwhile, the selectors have listed down the names of a full-strength squad for the upcoming series of team India with South Africa. Rohit Sharma will not be a part of the team as he is recovering from a calf injury.
The dropped out the list of players includes Mayank Agarwal, Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, and Mohammed Shami. On the other hand, players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya, and Shubham Gill would make a comeback through this series. Though the series is not a significant one for team India, the management of the team is not in a mood to let the seriousness go down among the players for the upcoming series.
Let’s Have A Look At The Track Record Of Four Major Inclusions In Team India, For The Upcoming Series:
1. Prithvi Shaw
Despite his fair performance during the New Zealand tour, the selectors had decided to give Prithvi Shaw another chance for the South Africa tour. Shaw is known for scoring great runs under pressure. His strike rate in List A cricket is over 118. And, Shaw averages above 44 in List A cricket.
The 20-year-old uses horizontal bat shots well, which adds another dimension in his gameplay. Shaw is assumed to make an opening for all the matches in the series, who will leave no stone unturned to complete use of the opportunity given to him.
2. Bhuvneshvar Kumar
Bhuvneshvar Kumar, who was out of action due to Sports hernia injury & he will be making a comeback in the series as Mohammed Shami has been rested. In his last four international matches: three T20Is and one ODI, his economy was nine or more in each game. The probable reason behind this could be his fitness as he was in the recovering phase of his injury.
The 30-year-old is India’s one of the finest fast-bowling personnel within the limited-overs cricket. However, he hasn’t been at his best, and fitness issues had a part to play.
In the recently held DY Patil T20 tournament, Kumar picked up only one wicket at an economy of about nine. Team India will certainly look forward to having him in the squad for T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia and would be hoping him to regain his fitness further as form.
3. Hardik Pandya
Of late, Hardik Pandya has been facing many injury issues and would be making a comeback into international cricket after a long time. Pandya had made a good comeback in the DY Patil T20 tournament after he finished the tournament by bagging the second place for scoring the highest and as the leading wicket-taker.
Hardik Pandya in DY Patil T20
Batting:
- Innings – 5
- Runs – 347
- Avg – 86.75
- SR – 232.89
Bowling:
- Innings – 5
- Wickets – 14
- Avg – 9.14
- Economy – 8.89
4. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has not been in his best form since the beginning of this year. Even during the tour of New Zealand, he was able to register only one half-century. His averages were 26.25, 25, and 9.50 in the T20I series, one-day internationals and in test series, respectively.
However, Kohli does not have a great track record against South Africa. At home, Kohli’s average is about 42, which is almost 17 less than his one-day international average. He had last faced South Africa in 2015, and since 2016, he has been maintaining an exceptional average of 72 in India. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, the entire responsibility of making team India come out with its best performance would lie on the shoulders of Virat Kohli.