India vs South Africa T20 World Cup: 3 Changes India can make for IND vs SA match

India vs South Africa: India had a terrific start to their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign. They defeated their arch-rivals Pakistan in a last-ball thriller at the MCG and then went on to beat the Netherlands at SCG. The victory in the first match was on the back of a decent bowling performance and a miraculous innings from Virat Kohli. Whereas the 2nd victory was a complete team performance. Despite such highs quite early in the tournament, India would love to fix some gaps that wide opened in the last two matches. With the main concerning factor being the form of opener KL Rahul and the inability to increase the run rate in the middle overs.

Coach Dravid and Captain Rohit Sharma will be keen to address those issues before going to the next match. As implied by Rohit before the World Cup, this Indian team is quite flexible in their approach and may not stick to just one playing XI or plan for every match. Keeping this in mind, let’s see the 3 possible changes that India can make for their next match against South Africa.

1. Harshal Patel to replace Axar Patel

India vs South Africa will be played at Perth Cricket Ground. Perth has traditionally been a paradise for fast bowlers. And is not a great hunting ground for spinners. Pace and bounce could be the main deciding factor in the matches in Perth. South Africa has a plethora of pacers capable of extracting the most out of the Perth pitch. Whereas for India, the only pacer who relies on pace and bounce is Mohammad Shami. Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep and not quicker through the air and may not be able to get the most out of Perth’s pitch. It is where Harshal could come in. Despite not being so quick, his bouncers and cutters could be of great value in Perth. He can replace Axar in the eleven for this match.

2. Rishabh Pant to replace KL Rahul

KL Rahul is not in the best of his forms. He has been eating up too much deliveries at the top of the order and hasn’t been able to get going in this T20 World Cup. With India playing South Africa in what is probably the most important match of this group, India could go in with Rishabh Pant in the opening slot in place of Rahul. Rishabh has great numbers in Australia and may be able to give quick starts to India if pushed to the opening slot. But the chances of this happening are quite low, as Dravid has already mentioned that they will back Rahul for a few more games.

3. R Ashwin to bowl in the powerplay

India hasn’t used Ashwin in powerplays so far in this T20 World Cup. South Africa is one opposition where India could use this tactic. South Africa’s batting strength heavily relies on the starts Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw provide. Both of these batters bats in the top three. And the other opener, Temba Bavuma is not a threat either. So Rohit Sharma could use Ashwin quite early in the innings to tackle the de Kock-Rossouw challenge. Ashwin has phenomenal numbers against left-handers and is without a doubt the most suitable man for this job.