New Delhi: The T20 series against South Africa will start from June 9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Ahead of the 5-match T20 series, former head coach Ravi Shastri has shared his playing XI for the first T20I. There are two surprising names in Shastri’s playing XI. He has dismissed Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav, who have made a splash in the IPL. However, Ravi Shastri was one of the supporters of Dinesh Karthik, who returned to the Indian team.
Shastri said, Rishabh Pant is already in the team, who can bat in the top four or five in T20 cricket. You’ll want someone who can keep up and finish the match. There are not many finishers after MS Dhoni. So I think his prospects right here are very good.
Opening combination will be important
Shastri has also dropped Kuldeep Yadav due to team combination. With five batsmen, India need batting depth down the order and this is where Axar Patel comes in. Patel did well for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022.
Opening combination will be important in Team India. KL Rahul will have to open with Ruturaj Gaikwad or Ishaan Kishan. Of the two, Ishaan is more flexible and that is why Ruturaj is all set to open with KL. Ishaan can bat at number three and Shreyas Iyer can bat at number four.
This could be the middle order
Shastri said, I think they will go with the people they would like to see first. Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad. They will probably give Ishan Kishan a break in this match or get him to bat at three. If you get Ishaan to bat at three, Shreyas Iyer can bat at No. 4, Rishabh Pant at No. 5 and Hardik Pandya at No. 6.
match between three bowlers
The choice of third seamer will be crucial in the bowling. The contest for this is between three young fast bowlers, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan, but as India want a death-over specialist for the T20 World Cup, Ravi Shastri believes that Arshdeep could also get a chance. .
According to the news of Inside Sports, Ravi Shastri said, 7 will be Axar Patel. I think 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar is fine with the bat, then it could be Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik and Harshal Patel. He further added, I think if Bhuvi plays, Umran is better because Bhuvi can work for you on death. But then you are looking for someone who is on death, they want to develop that bowler. So if Harshal is going to do that, he can play.
Ravi Shastri’s playing XI
1. KL Rahul
2. Rituraj Gaikwad
3. Ishaan Kishan
4. Shreyas Iyer
5. Rishabh Pant
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Axar Patel
8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
9. Yuzvendra Chahal
10. Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik
11. Harshal Patel
first published:June 5, 2022, 8:20 pm