IND vs SA T20Is: 5 Players To Watch Out For in IND VS SA T20 Series

The five-match T20I series between India and South Africa will kick off on 9 June in Delhi. This series, which will be played without the strict bio bubbles, will be another important segment for both sides as they look to build up for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Bet online by checking more new betting sites in India for the upcoming match here on our site.

While South Africa will compete with their full-strength squad, the hosts have rested some of their key players in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah; and Ravindra Jadeja is out due to an injury. Here we take a look at five players, apart from the one who will be obviously in the spotlight, to watch out for in this series.

IND vs SA: 5 players to watch out for

1. Ishan Kishan:

Ishan Kishan hasn’t been in good form in recent times. He has found it tough to score fluently and quickly against quality bowling. While Kishan accumulated 418 in the IPL this season, the second-most for him in any IPL edition, his strike rate was down to 120.11. Apart from his limitations, Kishan didn’t bat with great intent. The southpaw also looked out of the place against West Indies and Sri Lanka, before the IPL started.

With Dinesh Karthi’s return, Kishan’s spot might be in danger. He has the advantage of being a left-handed batter in the top order, which has probably kept him ahead of Sanju Samson in the race. It will be also interesting to see if Kishan plays all the five matches ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad. His time is steadily running out and Kishan needs to have a good series to keep himself in the contention for the World Cup squad.

2. Temba Bavuma:

Temba Bavuma isn’t a great T20 player. His career T20 (96 matches) strike rate is 125.37 and it drops to 123.09 in T20Is, although with a small sample size of 21 matches. While Bavuma has been primarily a top-order batter, he demoted himself to the middle-order after the first couple of matches in the T20 World Cup 2021, which was South Africa’s last T20I assignment. So, his batting position remains to be seen, however, he is more likely to bat in the top order.

The South African skipper seems a good player of spin-bowling. So, the visitors, who are unlikely to have a proper spin-hitter, will need their leader to take the charge against India’s spin-duo. The right-handed batter should bat with a better tempo and complement the rest of the batting unit. For more cricket betting odds and scheduled matches for the 2022 season, read here.

3. Axar Patel:

While Ravindra Jadeja is injured and Washington Sundar misses out from the squad, India have relied on Axar Patel to be their No. 7. Axar played the T20I series against New Zealand after the T20 World Cup 2021 but missed out on games after that due to injury issues. Now, India have called him back, interestingly after a middling IPL season.

The left-arm orthodox spinner picked up just 6 wickets at 53.5 runs a piece in IPL 2022. And, his economy was 8.67 RPO or more in 6 out of 13 innings. However, his batting returns improved as he averaged 45.5 with a strike rate of over 153. It’s a good opportunity for the spin-bowling all-rounder to perform well and make his case stronger to feature in India’s squad regularly if not in the playing XI.

4. Anrich Nortje:

Anrich Nortje is among the quickest bowlers at the moment. And, his express pace could be very useful in this series, as India are without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two of their best batters of high-end pace-bowling. Nortje had a great 2021 in T20 cricket, including the World Cup and the IPL. He picked up 33 wickets at an average of 17.3 with an economy of 6.15 in 2021.

Nortje wasn’t at his best in the recently concluded IPL season as battled fitness issues, with very little game time on his side. The South African speedster will look to make a strong comeback in this series. Given how things have gone in recent times, he is likely to be South Africa’s most important bowler in the death overs.

5. Arshdeep Singh:

Arshdeep Singh was Punjab Kings’ go-to bowler in tough this season. It won’t be wrong to say that he was better at defensive bowling than Kagiso Rabada. While Arshdeep picked up just 10 wickets, his economy was 7.7 RPO despite bowling some of the toughest overs. His economy was 8 or less in 10 out of 14, that’s an amazing consistency for an uncapped pacer.

Arshdeep might play as India’s third pace-bowling in this series, after Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel. The left-arm pacer will compete with the incumbent Avesh Khan for a single spot in the playing XI. However, as this is a five-match series, Arshdeep should get an opportunity at some stage, given the rotation policy comes into play. Read 10cric reviews here and have more knowledge on how to use this app for betting online.