Predicting India's squad for T20I series against Australia and South Africa

Team India is sweating it out ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup in October. Before Rohit Sharma & Co. head into the marquee tournament, they will take on Australia and then South Africa in a bilateral series. The two T20I series are being seen as a dress rehearsal for the event in Australia. With India not qualifying for the final of the Asia Cup, a lot of questions are being raised on the players selected. It will be interesting what squad India comes up with. Here we have predicted how the squad might shape up for the forthcoming T20I series against Australia and South Africa. Predicting India's squad T20I series against Australia and South Africa 1. Rohit Sharma (C) Rohit Sharma is the leader of the pack and picks himself for the upcoming home series. He is an astute tactician of the game and the most successful captain in the history of the Indian Premier League. Besides his captaincy prowess, he is a match-winner at the top of the order. Rohit has been a believer in playing a fearless brand of cricket and India under his regime and adopted a shift in batting approach. He has walked the talk by playing aggressively at the start of the innings. Rohit has been in good touch and his knock in the Asia Cup game against Sri Lanka was a reminder of how good the 35-year-old is. Team India will bank on the veteran player to provide them with good starts. 2. KL Rahul KL Rahul has been a run-machine in the T20 circuit in the last couple of years. However, he has looked like a pale shadow of his old classical self since he made a return to cricket. He has failed to give his team solid starts of late. Rahul is a proven performer in the T20 circuit and he shall be given a longer rope in the build to the upcoming World Cup. Therefore, the Indian vice-captain should make the cut in the team’s next assignment. The 30-year-old has featured in 60 matches for the Men in Blue and accumulated 1901 runs at a strike rate of 140.61. This shows how good Rahul has been. The team management would hope the star player gets his mojo back and provide the much-needed impetus at the top of the order. 3. Virat Kohli Virat Kohli made his return to cricket in the Asian tournament and was back at his vintage best. The ace batter was scratchy at the opening games but gradually picked up steam. The 33-year-old has been amongst the runs and is a must-have in India’s squad for the home series. Kohli has been a vital cog in team India’s success across formats in the last decade. He is the rock of Indian batting and acts as a pressure absorber in case a wicket falls. He has been excellent in shepherding the innings and is called the ‘master of run chases. The former Indian captain's presence at the crease gives assurance to the stroke-makers to play freely. Kohli has played over 100 T20Is averaging over 50 and striking at 136.89. The veteran batter coming back to form has been a welcoming sign for the Men in Blue. 4. Suryakumar Yadav Suryakumar Yadav has been in a rich vein of form since he broke into the Indian T20I setup. In the 27 matches played, he has scored 805 runs at an insane strike rate of 172.75. In the ongoing Asia Cup as well, the 31-year-old showcased his prowess with the bat. Suryakumar’s addition has added flare to the Indian setup. His ability to play all across the ground and dismantle opposition with his stroke-play is second to none. Due to his incredible skill, he is also called the 360-degree batter in the Indian setup. The Mumbai batter has been instrumental in India playing an aggressive brand of cricket and his form will be crucial for the Men in Blue going forward. Suryakumar adds flexibility to the Indian line-up as he can slot in at the top and the middle-order. 5. Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya is arguably one of the best all-rounders in limited-overs cricket at the moment. He brings the much-needed balance to the side and can prove to be a match-winner with both bat and bowl. The all-rounder slots in at the lower-middle order and has the responsibility to finish games for the side. With the ball, Hardik is the middle-overs enforcer for the team denting opposition at regular intervals. In the last couple of months, a sense of calm has been seen in Hardik’s demeanor and this has improved his game a lot. The ace-allrounder can be stated as one of the most important members of the Indian setup. 6. Rishabh Pant Rishabh Pant has been a regular figure in the Indian setup across formats. He has been among the best wicket-keeper batsman in the longest format of late. But the southpaw has not had the same prolific run with the bat as far as limited overs are concerned, especially in T20Is. However, the wicket-keeper might hold on to his place given what he offers to the side. He is the only southpaw in the middle-order and enables the Men in Blue to play the match-up game. Also, the Indian top order has been seen struggling against left-arm spin and Pant’s inclusion help the team tackle this threat. The 24-year-old has played some breath-taking knocks in other formats and the Indian camp would hope the dashing batter could replicate those performances in the shortest format as well. 7. Dinesh Karthik Dinesh Karthik has redeemed himself in an avatar of ‘a finisher’. He broke the door down with his incredible IPL performances and has been performing decently for Men in Blue since then. His stellar IPL 2022 campaign saw him hit 330 runs at a strike rate of 183.33. Karthik fulfills the role of a designated finisher which in itself is a rare breed. He has played some breathtaking innings of late and has done enough to keep his place in the squad. Karthik slotting in at the lower order gives the confidence to the top order to play freely. The veteran wicket-keeper has mastered the art of piercing fields and clearing boundaries. Like Suryakumar, he has the ability to play all across the ground. 8. Deepak Hooda Deepak Hooda has had a memorable year in the T20 circuit. The Rohtak-born represented Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League 2022 and scored 451 runs at a strike rate of 136.67. He made his T20I debut this year and in his short career, the batting allrounder has been striking at 155.85. Hooda’s inclusion provides flexibility to the batting lineup as the 27-year-old can slot in at any position from one to seven. Also, the Rohtak-born is quite handy with his off-spin and can be used against a left-handed batter. The batting all-rounder will most likely be a backup player but plays an important role in maintaining the balance of the side. His versatility with the bat and ball gives him an edge over other talented batters like Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson. 9. Axar Patel With Ravindra Jadeja injured, Axar Patel could very well fill the void of an all-rounder in the squad. The recent Asia Cup debacle has displayed how team balance is important for success and the 28-year-old provides that. Among the spin-all-rounders, Axar has been the go-to man for the Men in Blue when the veteran Jadeja has been injured. The Gujarat-born has proved his mettle when given an opportunity. He has featured in 25 T20I games and scored 457 runs at an impressive strike rate of 137.38. On the bowling front, he has taken 21 wickets at an economy of 7.34. Axar though is more of a bowling all-rounder but has improved his batting credentials of late. He is a like-for-like replacement for Jadeja and his inclusion stabilizes the composition of the squad. He, being a southpaw can also be used as a floater in case of favourable match-up. 10. Jasprit Bumrah Jasprit Bumrah is the spearhead of India’s pace attack and his inclusion is a no-brainer. He is currently recovering from injury and is expected to be fit before the series against Australia. Bumrah offers a complete package with the ball. He is lethal with the new ball, can play the role of middle-overs enforcer, and is simply impeccable at the death. The services of the 28-year-old have been greatly missed in the ongoing multi-nation tournament. Bumrah’s return gives the much-needed bite to the pace attack. He has been a giant of the game and his form could very well make or break India’s campaign in the forthcoming bilateral series. 11. Bhuvneshwar Kumar Bhuvneshwar Kumar is among the best new ball bowlers in the T20 circuit. The 32-year-old is known to rattle opposition with his swing and provide early breakthroughs for the team. The veteran bowler has been carrying the mantle of Indian bowling in Bumrah’s absence at the Asia Cup 2022. Bhuvneshwar has been good up front but leaked runs at the death. However, Bumrah’s return shall lessen his responsibilities. The Meerut-born is India’s tone-setter with the ball and has taken the most wickets in the powerplay this year. India’s ‘king of swing’ will again hold the cards with the new ball. 12. Harshal Patel Harshal Patel broke into the Indian set up last year with his stellar IPL performances. He played the role of death-overs specialist for his IPL-franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore and has been doing the same for the Men in Blue. The 31-year-old has made 17 appearances for India and has taken 23 wickets at an amazing economy of 8.58 given that he bowls the majority of the overs at the death. He is currently recovering from injury and is expected to be fit in a few weeks time. Harshal’s death-bowling prowess was largely missed in the Asia cup 2022. Also, the Gujarat-born is a useful contributor with the bat, and his inclusion increases the batting depth of the team. 13. Arshdeep Singh Arshdeep Singh in the last couple of years has made a name for himself as a yorker-specialist. The outstanding performances in IPL provided him a national call-up and he has been carrying on the good work in the international arena. In the ten appearances for the Men in Blue, the 23-year-old has taken 13 wickets at an economy of 7.6. Arshdeep’s arrival has given Rohit & Co. a left-arm option and has added variety to India’s pace-bowling arsenal. The left-arm pacer has been quite lethal at the death but has not been that effective with the new ball of late. India would back Arshdeep in the build-up to the global tournament and give him game time in the upcoming bilateral series against the Aussies and the Proteas. 14. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal has been India's premier spinner and has been banked upon to give the Men in Blue regular breakthroughs. In the build-up to the T20 World cup, he will again be backed in the series against Australia and South Africa. The 66-match veteran has taken 83 wickets for the Men in Blue at an economy of 8.09. He has been a wrecker-in-chief for India in the middle overs and is known to strangle opposition with his variations. Though the wily spinner has not had the best of Asia Cups, his three-wicket haul against Sri Lanka would give him a lot of confidence. The team management would hope their ace-spinner is back to his wicket-taking best. 15. Ravichandran Ashwin Ravichandran Ashwin made his comeback to the limited-overs leg in the last year’s T20 World Cup. The 35-year-old is India’s premier off-spinner and provides variety to the spin-attack. The veteran cricketer has seen an upsurge in his all-round prowess in the T20 circuit. In this year’s IPL, he scored 191 runs at a strike rate of 141.48 and took 12 wickets at an economy of 7.51. Ashwin has been quite consistent for the Men in Blue as well. Ashwin can slot in lower down the order and play crucial knocks with the bat. Also, the all-rounder is very lethal against the left-handers and forms a good foil to Chahal. 16. Ravi Bishnoi Ravi Bishnoi is one of the promising youngsters in the Indian circuit. The 22-year-old broke into the Indian team on the back of consistent performances in the IPL and has been doing great for the Men in Blue. Bishnoi has featured in 10 T20I matches and taken 16 wickets at an economy of 7.09. He is a wicket-taker and is used by captains as an attacking option. The Jodhpur-born can bowl at any phase of the game and this offers Rohit flexibility in terms of bowling options. Bishnoi being a legbreak googly bowler adds variety to the spin department.

Predicting India's squad for T20I series against Australia and South Africa

Team India, before the T20 World Cup in October, will take on Australia and then South Africa in a bilateral series.

9. Axar Patel