I am interested in a couple of things as far as the South Africa vs India Test series is concerned. One of them is the team selection and particularly related to India with some of their players unavailable due to injuries. India will be relieved with the fact that Virat Kohli has come back after leaving the camp due to an emergency. If he could not have made it back, it would have been difficult to find the best XI for the first Test with an injury list already including three players.
Mohammed Shami was ruled out before the announcement of the squad. Ishan Kishan has gone home due to personal reasons and now Ruturaj Gaikwad has also left the camp due to an injury. The squad and with the probable playing 11 has changed significantly in the last 24 to 48 hours.
The other question for India would be the selection of R Ashwin in South Africa. India often go with just one spin option in the conditions such as Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand. How they are going to play will be very interesting to see. When you are a subcontinent side and go to countries in southern hemisphere such as Australia and South Africa where you find bouncy pitches the team dynamics changes significantly.
India are playing the two Tests at Centurion and Cape Town. Historically, we have side sideways movements at times combined with bounce and pace at the venues. It will be interesting to see how Indian top-order approaches the innings in the series.
Open with Gill and Rohit
Yashasvi Jaiswal is a super talented player as he has shown in the few outings in West Indies. This is going to be a new experience for him in many ways. I would still like to see Shubman Gill open the batting with captain Rohit Sharma. His back foot game is suited for these conditions. Having said that, Gill will need to give himself some time to get in and then fully exploit that back-foot game. I am not saying he won’t score runs batting at No 3. But I would want Yashasvi to bat there and Gill to open the innings. It is just much better this way, I reckon.
Virat Kohli at No 4 will be fascinating to watch. He has rejoined the squad in Centurion and will be itching to score runs against South Africa. Kohli is very crucial in this lineup. Shreyas Iyer will be batting at No 5 and with Kohli and Gill, these three become key batters for India at 3,4 and 5 forming the middle order.
The wicketkeeping position is interesting to see with KS Bharat and KL Rahul both there. Rahul has done well keeping wickets for India in the white-ball matches of late. I feel Rahul should play in this two-match series.
As far as Bharat is concerned, I see him playing a major role in this home series vs England in January. I think who keeps the wicket between the two could be decided by two factors. One, India can look to play their best side which can help them beat South Africa in South Africa.
Two, they can give Bharat this two-match series as an exercise to get ready for the five-match series at home vs England starting next month. I will be very surprised if Bharat does not play vs England. However, in my view, it should be KL Rahul who keeps and bats at 6 here in South Africa.
Ravindra Jadeja at number 6 as the spin-bowling all-rounder is a no brainer. Mohammed Shami’s injury is a massive blow to India. I have said in my previous articles several times that I am a big Shami fan for his brilliance with the seam. There is Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the side who will try and make up for Shami’s absence. Shardul Thakur could also be tried out. Prasidh Krishna could be threatening with his height on these bouncy pitches but let’s see if India decide to add an extra batter in form of Thakur or opt for a pacer.
I would like to see Ashwin in the XI. He is such a gem of a bowler. Even if the ball is not turning and bouncing dramatically, you know Ashwin will be contributing to the game in some way or the other. It will be interesting to see how India lineup for the first Test.
Wind of change in South Africa
Dean Elgar has announced his retirement from international cricket and this series will be a swansong for him. He has been a Colossus really for South Africa in Tests at the top of the order. His mental strength is second to none. He is always a prized wicket or the opponent. He just does not get out easily. The bowlers know they got to earn his wicket. Elgar is a gutsy, classy player. He has everything which a successful top-order Test player requires. Elgar is going to be missed dearly by South Africa after this series.
David Bedingham is an interesting selection. I have seen quite a bit of him in UK as he played for Durham. One thing is for sure that he is extremely talented. The question was where he was going to commit to in international cricket, in UK or South Africa. He has obviously made his choice.
Bedingham looks set to be making his debut in Centurion. Watch out for this player as he has got a range of shots up his sleeve. He is not a youngster anymore. Understands his game pretty well after having played many first-class games. David’s first-class average is just under 50, which reflects his experience.
Nandre Burger played well in the ODIs vs India and he also becomes a contender to play the Tests. A lit bit of uncertainty around Kagiso Rabada remains with reports of injury. It will be interesting to see whether he will be available for selection. Tony de Zorzi impressed everyone in the ODIs vs India, and it will be interesting to see how he goes. Skipper Temba Bavuma returns to the Test format, and he is always a special player to watch against the red ball.
South Africa have made changes to the Test squad as they try and find their best team now in this format. An opponent in India helps them test some of their newer talents. South Africa hosting India in Centurion followed by Cape Town. It does not get better than that.
