The road to the T20 World Cup in Australia next year begins here. India and South Africa battle it out in what promises to be three mouth-watering T20Is starting Sunday in Dharamsala. For South Africa, this series holds plenty of significance since this is their first international gig since the disaster of the World Cup. They have a pool of relatively young players, some of whom promise to grab serious attention.
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Quinton de Kock
As Quinton de Kock gets ready to lead South Africa for the first time in T20Is, a lot rides on how he goes about in this series. With Faf du Plessis rested, De Kock is most likely candidate to take over the reins, one who is expected to take the lead the team to Australia next year for the T20 World Cup. Team Director Enoch Nkwe recently said that it’s about time South Africa look beyond du Plessis. The key is to blood youngsters going into the T20 World Cup and as de Kock gears up to lead a fairly young side in India following their World Cup debacle, his stiff test starts right away. South Africa are hurting and de Kock would be keen eager to making his IPL experience count against one of the toughest teams to beat on their home turf.
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Anrich Nortje
Anrich Nortje was named in South Africa’s World Cup squad before a fractured thumb sidelined him from the tournament. He proved his fitness in the A series picking up seven wickets and his 3/36 in the final game helping South Africa A beat India A to register a consolation win in the final unofficial ODI. Nortje is quick and can really bend his back. He made his debut against Sri Lanka earlier this year and made a quick impact with his speed and performance – picking up eight wickets from four ODIs – but has since dealt with an ankle and shoulder injury over the course of the summer. Provided Nortje can maintain his fitness, he could really complement Kagiso Rabada well with the new ball.
Temba Bavuma
A late bloomer in international cricket, but Temba Bavuma has shown he has all the credentials to excel at the international cricket – in the T20 format. Earlier this year in May, Bavuma led the Highveld Lions to the CSA T20 Challenge title, where he was the third-highest run-getter with 326 runs from nine innings at an average of 46.57. Having missed the cut for the Word Cup in England, Bavuma channelled his determination his disappointment into fine performances for Northamptonshire in the Country Championship Division 2, peeling back to back centuries against Lancashire and Derbyshire. Bavuma endured an ordinary series against India A with scores of 8, 40, 27, 28* and 6, which is why he would be keen to make amends in the three-match T20I series.
Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada is one of the only three players who were part of South Africa’s limited-overs squad the last time they toured India – in 2015. He has been the sixth-highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers in 2019 with 44 at an average of 28.65. He emerged as the South Africa Fans Player of the Year. Even in their dismal World Cup campaign, Rabada stood out with 11 wickets at 36.09. In an era where Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer are the most renowned names in fast bowling, Rabada quietly slots in a close third and his battle against India’s top three of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli makes for wonderful contest. Rabada and Kohli have had their run-ins in the past with the fast bowler making some strong claims about the India captain’s temperament. Neither would want to give each other any edge.
Rassie van der Dussen
In an otherwise forgettable World Cup campaign, Rassie van der Dussen was one of the few positives for South Africa, scoring 311 runs at an average of 62.20 and strike rate of 90.40. Last month, he won a Cricket South Africa contract for the 2019-20 season and recently, in the Global T20 Canada, he scored 208 runs from five innings averaging 52 for Vancouver Knights. der Dussen has played cricket across South Africa, England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Canada and India should be next on his agenda.
