India vs South Africa Playing XI tip-off: Mohammed Siraj likely to replace Harshal Patel, Reeza Hendricks for Temba Bavuma or Rilee Rossouw

For South Africa, there will be immense pressure on captain Temba Bavuma, who is struggling with the bat. And on the other hand, Reeza Hendricks, who has scored four fifties in the last five innings, is warming the bench. To include Hendricks in the top order, South Africa might drop Rilee Rossouw and bring in Dwaine Pretorius for Wayne Parnell.

Thiruvananthapuram ✅

Hello Guwahati 👋#TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/QQU2cdVxF5

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 30, 2022

The other selection talking point will be about Indian skipper Rohit Sharma playing five bowlers in order to play both wicket-keepers Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik.

Siraj in for Harshal

The Indian team management will be dealing with a pace dilemma before the toss. With no Bumrah and Shami available, India might give Mohammed Siraj a game in Guwahati. If Bumrah won’t be available for the World Cup, there is a high chance that Shami would replace him in the squad, and Siraj would be among the standbys. Indian team management would love to give Siraj some game time before flying to Down Under. It will be a bit harsh on Harshal Patel, who looked in fine rhythm in the first T20I after a forgettable three-match series against Australia.

Snapshots from #TeamIndia‘s training session in Guwahati ahead of the 2nd T20I against South Africa.#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/vz6vc50ZO8

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 1, 2022

Five bowlers combination for India

Rohit Sharma has made it clear that Dinesh Karthik is his first-choice wicket-keeper over Rishabh Pant, but at the same time, had maintained that he would love to give both of them a fair run. Playing only bowlers with no Hardik Pandya would be a risky proposition but the think tank had got very little option. Virat Kohli, the bowler, will have to be called in case one of the bowlers falters.

Hendricks for Bavuma or Rossouw

South Africa needs to make a brave call in order to bring in Reza Hendricks to the playing XI. In their last series against England, Hendricks was Proteas top-run scorer with 286 runs at the strike rate of 137.50. It was really harsh on the right-handed batter to warm the bench on Thiruvananthapuram. The question is, who will Hendricks replace? Will Temba Bavuma dop himself, which is highly unlikely. In that case, Rilee Rossouw will have to sit out. It would be harsh on Rossouw, a proven T20 player across the globe, to warm the bench.

#Proteas all-rounder Wayne Parnell touches on the depth in the seamers department 🗣️#INDvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/1rFaWewVGc

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 1, 2022

Pretorius for Parnell

In order to accommodate Hendricks and Bavuma in the playing XI, South Africa might bring Dwaine Pretorious in place for Wayne Parnell. It would be more or less a like-to-like replacement, but Pretorious is more capable with the bat with his impressive strike rate of 164.15 in the 29 T20Is.

India vs South Africa Pitch Report

It could be another dicey track. Team’s would love to chase under the lights. However, in the last ten T20 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy at Guwahati, six were won by the side batting first. But only three managed to score 150 or more in first innings.

India vs South Africa predicted XI

India Predicted XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

South Africa Predicted XI: Quinon de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Reza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Dwaine Pretorious, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi