To read about the South African perspective, click here.
In what is one of the most anticipated series of this calendar year, South Africa have a tough assignment of travelling to India for a tour comprising of three T20Is, five ODIs and four Tests. The tour will kick off with the commencement of the three T20Is followed by the five ODIs.
India vs South Africa T20 and ODI Series: The Indian Perspective
India have a few surprises in their squad, such as the inclusion of 31-year-old left arm seamer Sreenath Aravind for the T20s and young Punjab batsman Gurkeerat Mann Singh has found a place in the ODI squad on the back of some strong performances in the Ranji Trophy and for the India ‘A’ team. With one eye on the World T20 which will be held in India less than six months away, the selectors have stuck for a settled combination as far as the squad is concerned. India have faced South Africa in a bilateral limited overs series only twice in the last decade, and both teams have won one apiece.
The Indian limited overs side will be continued to be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni with Test skipper, Virat Kohli, as his deputy. South Africa will be led by Faf du Plessis in the T20Is and by Ab De Villiers in the ODI series. Both teams will be looking to find the right combination in the T20s as both won’t be playing many more T20I’s before the World Cup.
From India’s perspective, it’ll be very interesting to see if Mahendra Singh Dhoni continues to bat at No.4 as he did in the Bangladesh series. Ravi Shastri in an interview recently said: “You are talking of a seasoned campaigner, a legend. He (Dhoni) is one of the all-time greats of world cricket. So he takes over a job that he has been doing. Everything falls into place automatically. For the team, (there is) no difference. They played under him in the World Cup; they played under him in Bangladesh (in June). So what’s different now? They are playing under a champion.”
In the last two ODIs against Bangladesh, Dhoni moved up the order to bat at No. 4. While Shastri did not confirm the shift, there were enough indications that he wanted Dhoni to continue in the slot. “Don’t you think it is about time? He has done the dirty work for donkey’s years. Give him the chance to enjoy himself. You are talking of probably one of the greatest captains and players to have played the game. Check his record, what his achievements are in the shorter format of the game. I don’t think anyone will come close to him. Don’t worry about MS.”
Going by his comments, it is very much plausible that the Indian skipper will bat at No.4 and southpaw Suresh Raina, who will mostly likely bat at No.6, will don the finisher’s role. Dhoni himself has stated that India will need a long term solution for the finisher’s role and at the moment, it looks like Suresh Raina is a viable candidate for that spot.
Suresh Raina’s ability to play big shots at will under pressure and his agility between the wickets could prove to be invaluable for the Indian team and he very well might be the right candidate for that role. The only other debate as far as the batting order is concerned is the dilemma of selecting one out of Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu. Rahane was dropped mid way through the Bangladesh series and Rayudu justified his inclusion, to an extent, with a well-compiled half century in the final ODI of that series. Rayudu can play big shots and can effortlessly budge around positions in the middle order. This might mean Rayudu will most probably get the nod at least for the first few games of the limited overs series.
The other constant cause of debate is the all-rounder’s spot. With Ravindra Jadeja not in the reckoning, for the time being, the other options are Stuart Binny and Axar Patel.
Stuart Binny was quite impressive in both the Bangladesh and Zimbabwe series, where he finished as the leading run scorer, and contributed well with the ball, too. Axar Patel’s ability with the bat is still an unanswered question and there have been several doubts as to whether he’s good enough to bat at No.7, although his bowling form has held him in good stead. With Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh (in the T20 squad) as spinning options to choose from, MS Dhoni will most likely opt for Binny ahead of Patel. With MS Dhoni also known to prefer having a longer batting line-up, Binny’s case becomes even stronger and he will most likely get the nod.
As far as the fast bowler’s department is concerned, speedster Mohammad Shami is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered during the World Cup and wasn’t considered for selection. However, the good news is that he is likely to be fit in time for the Test matches. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav retained their places, apart from the surprise inclusion of Sreenath Aravind. One notable absentee from the squad is Mumbai pacer, Dhawal Kulkarni, who was impressive in the few chances he got during the Bangladesh tour.
ODI squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit Mishra
T20I squad: MS Dhoni (captain), R Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, S Aravind, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra
