IND vs SA: Possible India Playing 11 for 1st T20I

IND Playing 11: Team India is chasing a world record. The team is eyeing a record 13th T20I victory and to achieve this world record feat they will have to collide against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

The BCCI selection committee has rested some of the senior members for this series including the regular skipper Rohit Sharma along with Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, etc., whereas, the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have been axed from the 18-man squad due to injury. KL Rahul will be leading in Rohit Sharma’s absence and will have the onus to help India secure a record 13th win in T20Is. What will be the playing 11 for India in the first T20I? Let’s discuss.

Team News

KL Rahul will be leading the side in this series.
Veteran keeper batter Dinesh Karthik has returned to the squad after 3 long years.
Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh are the two uncapped players named in the squad.
Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel are the three spinners name in the squad.

Related: Best captain in the world

IND Playing 11 (likely)

In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul will be opening the innings alongside Ishan Kishan.
Shreyas Iyer is expected to bat at no 3 followed by the likes of Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, and Hardik Pandya.
Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the two spearheads along with Hardik Pandya.
Yuzvendra Chahal and one between Avesh Khan or Axar Patel will complete the bowling lineup.

KL Rahul
Ishan Kishan
Shreyas Iyer
Deepak Hooda
Rishabh Pant
Dinesh Karthik
Hardik Pandya
Yuzvendra Chahal
Axar Patel/Avesh Khan
Harshal Patel
Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Related: Best opener in the world

India Squad

KL Rahul (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Umran Malik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan

India vs South Africa Dream11 captain, vice-captain picks from IND

The stand-in skipper KL Rahul was prolific in the recently concluded Tata IPL as he amassed 600+ runs in the season. He will be the lynchpin at the top for India. Take a look at his T20I numbers.

Matches	Runs	Strike Rate
56	1831	142.29

KL Rahul in the last five T20I appearances

69 vs Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi
50 vs Scotland at Dubai
54* vs Namibia at Dubai
15 vs New Zealand at Jaipur
65 vs New Zealand at Ranchi

Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans to Tata IPL glory. He was prolific with both bat and ball during the IPL as he scored 450+ plus and was on the money with the ball clocking 140+ with ease. Hardik is perhaps in the best shape physically ever since Asia Cup 2018 and will be a vital cog in this series. Below are his T20I numbers.