Published: Sep 28, 2015, 12:14 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 29, 2015, 10:06 AM (IST)
South Africa will begin their marathon tour of India 2015 with their only Twenty20 warm-up match, against India A at the Air Force Ground in Palam, in New Delhi on Tuesday. The touring South African team will be in India for as many as 72 days, traveling almost the length and breadth of the country. They will be playing three T20 Internationals (T20Is), five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and four Tests. There are two tour games in the itinerary as well — one being this T20 match and a two-day match at the end of October before the Test series. The first tour game is being played prior to the T20I series, which will begin on October 2 at the scenic HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, following which the two teams will move on to Cuttack and then Kolkata for the last two games. A young India ‘A’ team under the leadership of Mandeep Singh will be locking horns with the South Africans on Tuesday, and given the expertise and firepower that the hosts have in their ranks, a thrilling contest can be expected.
The series was aptly christened ‘Gandhi-Mandela Series’ and it will be a stern test for both the cricketing powerhouses, whose firepower as well as depth in the talent bank would be tested. The Proteas have already suffered a blow, as their all-rounder David Wiese — who has experience of Indian conditions, having played the Indian Premier League (IPL) — was ruled out due to injury. The call for replacement went to the experienced Albie Morkel, and the South African squad looks strong as ever. but Morkel will not take part in this match as he is yet to get his visa after being called up as a last-minute replacement for Wiese. ALSO READ: Albie Morkel’s selection yet another instance of IPL helping being a yardstick for international selection
There will be no Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel either, as they are not part of the T20I squad. However, on paper, this touring party looks strong with the likes of Marchant de Lange, Kagiso Rabada, Albie Morkel, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris and Khaya Zondo in the bowling department. The bowling has mixed experience but the likes of Albie, Morris and Tahir can be more than handy in Indian conditions keeping their skills and experience in mind.
Quinton de Kock will see this as an opportunity to make a strong statement that it was a wrong decision to exclude him from the Test side. De Kock is a part of South Africa’s squad for the limited-overs and would be more than eager to keep plundering runs against India, especially with the ideal preparations that he had with the South African A in the tri-series against India A and Australia A. ALSO READ: South Africa squad for India T20Is: Proteas start World T20 preparation on aggressive note
In all likeliness, the tour game will be closely followed by Team India. The outcome of the clashes will depend massively on how the duo of AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis play, as their failures may have severe impact on the touring South African side. Hashim Amla however misses this match as he will join the team a couple of days late due to ‘personal commitments’, as confirmed by coach Russell Domingo.
The India A team is in a way, the best playing XI consisting youngsters who also have T20 expertise. The presence of Yuzvendra Chahal and Hardik Pandya in particular proves the selectors may tend to acknowledge IPL exploits in order to pick players that could be horses for courses. Mandeep Singh, who turned up in the South African colours when they lost as many as 10 cricketers from the A side were admitted in hospital in Chennai, will be leading the India A team.
There are few players to watch out for in particular, especially Pawan Negi. The all-rounder is a hard-hitting batsman and a handy spinner, who was ignored by his state side Delhi. But selectors’ faith would give him the necessary fodder to prove the critics wrong. There is also the right-arm pacer Anureet Singh, who has the knack of picking wickets are regular intervals and the chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. ALSO READ: Suryakumar Yadav: India A opportunity has come at right time
This T20 tour game was supposed to be played at Feroze Shah Kotla, but the dispute in Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) forced the Indian cricket board to shift it to Palam. The venue, however, would not be of a great significance keeping the nature of competition in mind, and a run-fest can be expected.
India A squad to take on South Africa in T20 tour match: Mayank Agarwal, Manan Vohra, Manish Pandey, Mandeep Singh (c), Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Rishi Dhawan, Anureet Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, Kuldeep Yadav.
South Africa squad for 3-match T20I series in India: Faf du Plessis (c), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Albie Morkel and Khaya Zondo.
Time: 11.00 AM IST
(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
