Middle-order batsman Ramandeep Singh and fast bowler Vijaykumar Vishak have earned their first call-up to India for the four-match T20I series in South Africa starting November 8 in Durban.
Left-arm quick Yash Dayal, who recently became part of India’s Test team but is yet to make his international debut, has also found a place in the team.
Ramandeep’s over-the-end hit was a key cog in Kolkata Knight Riders’ chase for the IPL title earlier this year. In this tournament he hit only 62 balls but scored 125 runs at a strike rate of 201.61. This was fourth among all batters who pitched at least 50 pitches during the season. Ramandeep can also play as a medium pacer and is a cannon outfielder, which he proved when he took a boundary catch during the Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Oman recently.
Karnataka and Royal Challengers Bengaluru seamer Vishak, who has been outside the national selection bracket for the past few months, was one of five emerging players to get fast-bowling contracts from the BCCI. He is known for his change of pace in white-ball cricket and has recently impressed in the red-ball format as well, picking up 10 wickets in 24.90 seconds in the Duleep Trophy.
Dayal, on the other hand, was originally part of the India A team and is participating in the shadow tour of the senior Test team’s tour of Australia. However, he withdrew from that tour and became part of South Africa’s T20I team instead. His place in the India A team went to Prasidh Krishna and he also found a place in the Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
There are three notable absentees in the T20I squad, all due to injury. Batting all-rounder Riyan Parag is undergoing rehabilitation with what the BCCI team said was a “chronic right shoulder injury”. Fast bowler Mayank Yadav and seam bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube were also unavailable due to unknown injuries.
ESPNcricinfo LtdMayank, who made his international debut in the recent T20I against Bangladesh at home, has been plagued by a series of injuries, including an abdominal problem, and made a high-profile tournament debut, consistently clocking over 150km/h while standing up. However, he missed IPL 2024. He won the Player of the Match award in the first two games.
It is unclear whether Dube’s injury is the same back issue that ruled him out of the recent T20I series against Bangladesh at home. Middle-order batsman Tilak Varma, who replaced him in that series, retains his place in the Indian squad.
Fast bowler Abesh Khan and spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel will also be recalled. Axar was rested from the Bangladesh T20Is as he was part of India’s Test team during a busy home season, but he has not found a place in the squad touring Australia and Washington Sundar effectively replaced him in their squad. I pulled it out. Axar replaced Washington in the T20I squad.
As the South Africa tour partially overlapped with Australia’s Test tour, the T20I squad included fast bowler Harshit Rana and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, as well as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah. All-format players and injured players are also absent. Kuldeep Yadav.
India is scheduled to play four T20Is in South Africa at Durban (November 8), Gukebela (November 10), Centurions (November 13) and Johannesburg (November 15).
India National Team T20I vs South Africa
Suryakumar Yadav (Capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (W), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (W), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chaka. Ravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vishak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.
