South Africa are in India for five T20Is which will begin on June 9. This South Africa's first T20I tournament since missing out on qualifying for the semi-finals at the 2021 T20 World Cup and they will be looking to find their best XI for the T20 World Cup later this year. Both India and South Africa boast of a strong squad which comprises of players who recently played in the IPL 2022. Let’s look at the players from both teams to watch out for.
Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya, the Gujarat Titans skipper, silenced critics with his incredible performances in IPL 2022 which guided his team to the trophy. The all-rounder finished the season with 487 runs and 8 wickets which includes a match-winning performance in the final against Rajasthan Royals.
Umran Malik
Pace sensation Umran Malik is very likely to make his debut in this series. The Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer clocked in excess of 150 kph in nearly every match that he played in IPL 2022. He also bowled the second fastest delivery of the season at 157 kph. Umran finished the season with 22 and will now be looking to make an impact in international cricket.
Arshdeep Singh
Another uncapped player very likely to make his debut is Arshdeep Singh, who was go-to bowler for Punjab Kings, especially in the death overs. Arshdeep finished the season with 10 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 7.70 and stood out for his toe-crushing yorkers.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal was the Purple Cap winner of the IPL this season. He finished the season with 27 wickets from 17 matches at an economy rate of 7.75. He also took a hat-trick against KKR and finished that game with figures of 5/40.
Dinesh Karthik
The last time Dinesh Karthik was seen playing for India was in India’s ODI World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in 2019. Not the one to give up, the wicketkeeper batsman produced remarkable performances in IPL 2022 to earn himself a recall in the Indian team. Karthik, who was released by KKR and acquired by RCB for Rs 5.5 crore, scored 330 runs from 16 games at a strike rate of 183.33.
David Miller
David Miller was at his best this season of the IPL, scoring 481 runs from 16 matches at a strike-rate of 142.73 for the Gujarat Titans. Having played in India for nearly two months recently, Miller is very well acclimatised to the playing conditions here and that is another reason why he is one of the players to watch out for.
Kagiso Rabada
Punjab Kings were not able to qualify for the IPL 2022 playoffs, but their pacer Kagiso Rabada had a good season, finishing with 23 wickets from 13 matches. Much like Miller, Rabada has also been in India for the last two months and is used to the Indian pitches.
Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock, who was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants for IPL 2022, scored 508 runs from 15 matches at a strike-rate of 148.97. That included one century and three fifties. He also scored the highest individual score in the IPL - a 70-ball 140 against KKR which was a part of a 210-run partnership for the first wicket with KL Rahul.
Tabraiz Shamsi
The wrist spinner is among the best bowlers in T20I cricket. In 2021, Shamsi was the joint-highest wicket-taker in T20 internationals along with Wanindu Hasaranga and on some of the slow Indian pitches, he could be the match-winner.
