India vs South Africa: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli likely to be rested; Hardik Pandya captaincy contender for T20Is
India vs South Africa: The senior national selection committee might pick Shikhar Dhawan or Hardik Pandya as captain for the 5-match T20I series in June as the senior players, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are likely to be rested.
In Short
- India will take on South Africa in a 5-match T20I series in June
- Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli likely to be rested
- Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant may also be rested
Senior India players, including captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, are set to be rested for the upcoming -match T20I series against South Africa in June at home. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant are also likely to be given a break after the end of the IPL 2022.
The T20I series will start in the national capital on June 9 with the remaining matches being held at Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot and Bengaluru respectively.
The BCCI wants their big names to be fresh for the all-important tour of England in July where India will play a Test match and limited-overs matches. The star players are likely to be rested for the 2-match series against Ireland as well.
The squad for the 5-match series against South Africa is likely to be announced on May 22 after the completion of the league stages of IPL 20222, the PTI reported.
It is understood that veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has impressed one and all with his captaincy for Gujarat Titans, are in the reckoning for the leadership role for both South Africa and the short two-match T20I series against Ireland.
"All the senior India players will get at least three and half weeks of complete rest. Rohit, Virat, KL, Rishabh and Jasprit will all directly go to England for the 'fifth Test' following the white-ball series. We need all our key players to remain fresh for the England series," PTI quoted a senior BCCI source as saying.
"The selectors have a couple of choices. Shikhar Dhawan, as he has already captained India in absence of Virat, Rohit and Rahul during last year's Sri Lanka series. But Hardik Pandya's impressive captaincy for Gujarat Titans hasn't gone unnoticed. So it will be a close call," the BCCI official said.
LIKELY TEAM COMPOSITION
Meanwhile, India are likely to retain most of the names that played the T20I series against Sri Lanka regardless of how they performed in IPL 2022. Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan, who has impressed for Lucknow Super Giants, might get a look in ahead of the highly-rated Umran Malik, the agency added.
The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda along with Dhawan and Hardik are set to form the core of the batting unit. Sanju Samson could also be retained. Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin are likely to be part of the spin attack while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan are set to be part of the pace attack.