India vs South Africa 2019: 5 players to watch out for in the T20I series

The South African cricket team will be on a month-long tour of India where they will play a three-match T20 series and a three-match Test series. The tour will kick off with the T20 series and the first match will be played at Dharamsala on the 15th of September.

With the T20 World Cup coming up next year, every T20 series would be crucial, in terms of preparation. Both South Africa and India won their last T20 series quite convincingly. While India recently won a T20 rubber in the West Indies, the Proteas won their last T20 assignment back in March against Sri Lanka.

Both the teams possess a blend of very experienced players and fresh faces, who are eager to make a mark. So, in light of the upcoming India vs South Africa T20 series, let's have a look at 5 players we need to watch out for.

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#5 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya hasn't made a big impact in T20 internationals so far. His exploits in the ODI and Test arena have seen him grow hugely as an international cricketer but his stats in the shortest format are not very impressive.

In 38 T20Is, he has scored 296 runs at an average of 16.44 and he has picked up 36 wickets at an economy rate of 8.32.

Hardik came into the limelight because of T20 cricket. His performance for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL helped him get selected in the Indian team.

In the 2019 IPL, Pandya was on fire with the bat and scored 402 runs at a strike rate of 191.43. He also picked up 14 wickets and provided his team with the requisite balance.

Pandya was rested for the entire West Indies tour and thus, he would be fresh and hungry to perform for his team. He has not featured in a single T20 match after the IPL and hence, it would be interesting to see if he can carry his IPL form into the T20Is against South Africa.

Also see – ICC World Test Championship Schedule

#4 Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock is a destructive left-handed opening batsman from South Africa and is also the captain of the T20 side. He bats very aggressively and is a sweet timer of the ball. His attacking approach in the power-play lays a good foundation for a huge total for his team.

De Kock has been one of the most consistent players for South Africa in the recent past. With Francois du Plessis not in the team, he is now their best batsman in the squad. Quinton enjoys a pretty good record against India. In four T20I matches, he has scored 153 runs at an average of 38.25.

The wicket-keeper has been playing in the IPL for six years and thus, he is quite familiar with the Indian conditions. He also won the IPL this year with the Mumbai Indians. His performance in the tournament was also pretty impressive as he scored 529 runs.

With the added responsibility of captaincy on his shoulders, it would be interesting to watch how De Kock performs in this series.

#3 Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada is one of the best fast bowlers in international cricket and is one of the few bowlers to have excelled in all three formats. He is the leader of the South African bowling attack and would be desperate to perform well after a dismal 2019 World Cup.

Rabada has the abilities to excel in all conditions. He can swing the ball at a lively pace and he can easily rip apart any batting line up, if the conditions favour seam bowling.

The fast bowler is also one of the many South African players who play in the IPL. He was signed by the Delhi Capitals in 2017. He enjoyed a fabulous 2019 season, where he picked up 25 wickets in just 12 matches, thereby ending up as the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

With his experience of playing in Indian conditions, Rabada could be key to South Africa's hopes.

Moreover, he has been involved in a war of words with the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli in the past. Therefore, the rivalry between the two players would be one to watch out for in the series.

#2 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is a superstar of cricket and has several records to his name. At present, he is arguably one of the best batsman in the world and serves up a batting clinic whenever he gets an opportunity.

The World T20 is a year away and there will be huge responsibility on Kohli's shoulders, not just as a batsman but also as the captain of the side. Hence, the skipper would like to try out a few youngsters in the team and nourish them for the big occasion.

Virat performed decently in his last T20 series against West Indies. He scored one-half century in the three-match series and averaged 35.33.

However, the Indian captain doesn't enjoy a great record against the Proteas in T20Is. He has scored 173 runs in 8 matches at an average of 28.83 against them.

Thus, Kohli would like to start the home season with a bang and a series win against South Africa will certainly boost the team's confidence.

#1 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma, the highest run-scorer of the recently concluded 2019 World Cup, has been in red hot form in white-ball cricket over the past year.

The right-handed opener has been key to India's success in the limited-overs formats. His attacking nature of his play has also earned him the reputation of being the 'Hitman' of cricket.

Rohit is one of the strongest pillars of the Indian batting at the moment and the team relies heavily on him to provide them with a good start.

Blessed with the ability to hit sixes at will, he can easily clear any ground in the world. The scariest part about Rohit's batting is that he tends to keep batting for a long time, once he gets in. He has three double hundreds in ODIs and four centuries in T20Is to his name.

After a spectacular World Cup, Rohit didn't have a great tour of the West Indies. Hence, he would like to make up for that in the series against South Africa.