New Delhi: The Indian cricket team is set to clash against South Africa from June 9 in a five-match T20 International series. Reportedly, even Team India's regular captain Rohit Sharma will not be a part of Ind vs SA T20I series. Chetan Sharma-led selectors are considering resting key players keeping in mind India's tour of England, Asia Cup 2022, and T20 World Cup, later this year. With Rohit Sharma most likely to be rested for SA T20Is, the biggest challenge that lies in front of the BCCI is who should lead the national squad in his absence.
“All the senior India players will get at least three and half weeks of complete rest. Rohit, Virat, KL, Rishabh and Jasprit will all directly go to England for the ‘fifth Test’ following the white-ball series. We need all our key players to remain fresh for the England series,” a senior BCCI source privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
Once Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 gets over, senior players like captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah will most likely be rested. The team management and selectors have found a solution to 'Who will be the captain of Team India in Rohit's absence'?. If a report in PTI is to be believed, senior opener Shikhar Dhawan can get the captaincy for the T20 series against South Africa.
The Indian team set to tour South Africa will have a mix of young and experienced players. Players who have been exceptional performers in the IPL.
Tilak Verma, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prashant Krishna, and Avesh Khan are likely to get a chance, while Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar may find a place in the T20 squad. There may be a return to the captaincy of Dhawan, who was the captain of the team that toured Sri Lanka. The team won one series and lost one on that tour.