5 players to watch out for in IND-SA T20Is
After the completion of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Indian and the South African players will now begin their international duties as both the teams are set to face each other in a five-match T20I series. With this being a T20 World Cup year, both sides will be looking to start their preparations for the marquee event.
Let’s take a look at the 5 players to watch out for in India vs South Africa 5-match T20I series:
KL Rahul
In absence of the regular skipper Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul will don the captaincy hat in the series. He led his Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) side to the Playoffs and has been in scintillating form. He ended the tournament as the second-highest run-getter behind Jos Buttler with 616 runs in 15 innings at an average of 51.33, which also included two centuries.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal finished the IPL 2022 campaign as the highest wicket-taker. He along with Buttler took Rajasthan Royals (RR) to the finals as the 31-year-old spun his web to snare 27 scalps in the tournament. The winner of the Purple Cap, Chahal became the spinner with most wickets in an IPL season. He is expected to do the same damage against the Proteas across five T20Is.
Hardik Pandya
The man of the moment, Hardik Pandya did the dual duty of captaincy and batsmanship exceptionally well as he led his Gujarat Titans (GT) side to title glory in their very first season itself. In 15 innings, Pandya smashed 487 runs at an average of 44.27 with four half-centuries. With the ball in hand, he took figures of 3/17 in the crucial final against RR to win the Player of the Match award.
David Miller
Pandya’s teammate in the IPL, South African dashing batter David Miller was in some form in the cash-rich league. The left-handed finisher hammered 481 runs in 16 innings at a staggering average of 68.71 with the highest score of 94*. Miller is expected to do the same by handling the Proteas middle-order and also by successfully finishing the games with his brutal hitting.
Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada has been the spearhead of the South African bowling line-up for years now. He has been the go-to pacer in all three formats for the Rainbow Nation. Rabada took the most wickets (23) in 13 matches by a pacer in the recently concluded IPL. The speedster is once again set to lead the pace attack with Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Wayne Parnell.
