IND vs SA T20Is: Young Indian pack aim for right answers in Proteas test

A young Indian team will be asked tough questions to which answers might not be readily available when they will clash with the Proteas in a threematch T20I series starting on SundayWith Hardik Pandyas unavailability till the start of IPL 2024 lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah on a break and not much clarity over Virat Kohlis and Rohit Sharmas T20I future it wont be easy to read much into Suryakumarled Indian sides success or failureAlso ReadIND vs SA T20Is Players to score most runsThe clear picture ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad will only emerge after the IPL 2024 with form and fitness being the main criteriaSuryakumar Yadav led side beat Australia 41 on fabulous batting tracks at home but even the most partisan Indian fan would agree that there was so much less at stake in a series that was held within 72 hours of the World Cup Australias core bowling attack was rested and some of the seniors were so tired that they left for home after the third game having spent almost nine weeks in IndiaThe South Africa series in that context is the last big international T20 series that India play followed by one against Afghanistan in midJanuaryEven with their pace bowling mainstays Kagiso Rabada rested and Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi injured the Proteas at home will be more than a handfulAlso ReadIND vs SA T20Is Players with most wicketsBatting Combination conundrumIndia is carrying 17 players for the T20 series and only three of them Shreyas Iyer Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Kishan are also part of the 50over formatThere will be multiple bones of contention the openers and No 3 who will have to shed their archaic safetyfirst approach that had been Indias bane in previous T20 World CupsYashasvi Jaiswal has already shown that he belongs to this level and Shubman Gill is now one of the first picks across formats while Ruturaj Gaikwad after his 52ball100 will be that much difficult to ignoreAnd herein lies the problem as Ishan Kishan isnt a great option beyond No 4 if the troika of Jaiswal Gill and Gaikwad bat And at No 4 is Indias No 1 T20 batter and skipper Suryakumar Yadav who is the only automatic choice as far as the T20 World Cup is concernedThen there is the wicketkeepers slot where Kishan will have a stiff fight from Jitesh Sharma who is evolving nicely as a finisher at No 6There is a No 5 slot where Shreyas who is not exactly a slambang from the word go but an IPL skipper is expected to be challenged with shortpitched stuff by the likes of Marco Jansen Gerald Coetzee and Andile PhehlukwayoBut if one plays Iyer then there would be no place for Rinku Singh another designated finisher who himself said on BCCITV that he will be batting at No5In case Kishan doesnt find a place in the top four then Jitesh is the option at No 6For the likes of Ruturaj Jaiswal Rinku and Jitesh the extra bounce on offer at Kingsmead will pose a different sort of challenge as those with superior backfoot play will be paramountBowling picks are easierThe Indian bowling attack was put to the sword by Australia in most games but in South Africa the length would be doubly important as the younger crop might find it enticing to dig it in due to the extra bounceWhile there wont be Quinton de Kock in the mix anymore Heinrich Klaasen David Miller skipper Aiden Markram hardhitting Tristan Stubbs and new batting sensation Matthew Breetzske could make life difficult for Indian bowlers While Ravindra Jadeja is the vicecaptain in this series and is expected to bat at No7 Axar Patel who hasnt been picked for the series will certainly be around when the squad for the marquee event is selectedThe second spinner will certainly be googly specialist Ravi Bishnoi who is now the worlds No 1 ranked T20 spinner Deepak Chahar Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar are expected to be the three straightforward pace bowling choicesSquadsIndia Suryakumar Yadav C Yashasvi Jaiswal Shubman Gill Ruturaj Gaikwad Tilak Varma Rinku Singh Shreyas Iyer Ishan Kishan wk Jitesh Sharma wk Ravindra Jadeja VC Washington Sundar Ravi Bishnoi Kuldeep Yadav Arshdeep Singh Mohd Siraj Mukesh Kumar Deepak ChaharSouth Africa Aiden Markram c Ottniel Baartman Matthew Breetzke Nandre Burger Gerald Coetzee 1st and 2ndT20Is Donovan Ferreira Reeza Hendricks Marco Jansen 1st and 2nd T20Is Heinrich Klaasen Keshav Maharaj David Miller Andile Phehlukwayo Tabraiz Shamsi Tristan Stubbs and Lizaad WilliamsMatch Starts at 730 pm ISTWith PTI Inputs