6 Lesser known players to watch out for in the India-South Africa limited overs series

The limited-overs series sees a lot of youngsters mixing it up with their senior prosWith less than a week to go for the battle between the top two cricketing nations in the world, the first ever Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series has hiked up a lot of expectations. India and South Africa shall lock horns in one of the most mouth-watering clashes of this year with a lot of young players making it to the squad for both the teams.Both the sides are star embedded with stalwarts like AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, MS Dhoni and the likes but when it comes to the limited overs format one can see a handful of new faces, craving to make a mark.So, here is a list of 6 new players who can make their mark in this series

#1 Aaron Phangiso

Aaron Phangiso will look to cement his place in the side during the ODI series against India

The willowy bowler who disturbed the Master-Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s timber in the 2012 Champions League has been hungry to perform for a long time now. The exploit of ‘neutral pause’ had a decent run in the recently concluded T20 series against New Zealand and Bangladesh and shall be keen on converting that run into a much better one this time around.

India, Aaron’s next opposition, did struggle a bit against the Sri Lankan spinners in their recent series which again adds to his advantage. Pitches that offer turn and bounce are also waiting to make things hard to earn for the hosts. His economy of 4.49 in 15 matches shows how good he has been in controlling the batsman while many bowlers get whacked for runs in the initial stages of their career.

The ‘in-and-out’ left arm spinner has been longing to cement his place in the side and his technique shall no wonder trouble the batsmen, making him a player to watch out for.

#2 Gurkeerat Mann Singh

Gurkeerat Mann has been rewarded for his consistent performances in domestic cricket

Yes! It is the same lad who was seen flying the air a couple of years back in the IPL season 6. The ‘bird man’ has now made it to the national side through his efforts in domestic cricket and some excellent recent showings for the India A side.

Apart from the catch, he has a lot behind his name like a streak of match winning knocks for Punjab at the junior and senior level. His outstanding average of 121.92 in T20s is well supported by his economy of 7.31 which is very good for an all-rounder. He has single-handedly taken Punjab over the line with the bat and the ball on many occasions.

Coming to the 50 over format, he put up a studious show in the Vijay Hazare trophy 2011-2012 and followed it up with good knocks with the last match winning one being his 65 with his bat and 5/22 with the ball against Bangladesh A in recent one-day series.

As a batsman who is capable of adapting well to the conditions, Gurkeerat will be looking to make this opportunity count.

#3 Eddie Leie

Eddie Leie is an outstanding T20 bowler

He has one interesting tale behind his rise as a leggie. A medium pacer at first, he discovered the spinner in him by accident and added the likes of the ‘googly’ and ‘doosra’ to his bag by watching videos of the greats like Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Danish Kaneria.

A purple patch in the T20 summer in which he was the joint second highest wicket taker earned him a good contract with Cricket South Africa. He had the lowest economy among the top 15 wicket takers, which showed how well he can contain the batsmen.

He impressed in his very first T20 picking up 3 wickets for just 16 runs. He can break partnerships, he can cut down the run flow, and he has variations that shall not allow the batsmen to settle. And all these can be very much expected to pose threats to India.

#4 Khaya Zondo

Khaya Zondo is an aggressive player that can take a match away from the opposition single-handedly

The aggressive middle order batsman with plenty of domestic experience has received the T20 national call as a replacement for the injured Rilee Rossouw. The call came as a result of his consistent performances in the first class level. Starring for a local franchise, Impi, Zondo’s fire power bashed the bowlers as he ended the tournament as the top scorer for the team with 259 runs, including a century.

If there is one reason why he can prove to be a threat for India, it is that he has camped and studied the conditions in the sub-continent during the recent series South Africa A played against India A and Australia A.

It is his 154 runs at an average of 38.40 in four matches that earned him the spot in the team. His bowling comes as an offer with his attacking batting package as he can chip in with wickets if required. Zondo would be waiting to make things count against a higher ranked Indian team.

#5 Sreenath Aravind

Aravind has forced his way back into the reckoning with his impressive performances

His inclusion came as a surprise for many, but after a bench-warming first national series against England in 2011, he has risen up the ranks to establish himself as a bowler who truly deserved a call-up to the national side. The southpaw can fill in the vacancy of that left arm seamer whom India have lacked in the last couple of years.

He was the backbone of Karnataka’s success in the Ranji Trophy last year with 44 victims in just 11 matches and followed it up with decent performances in the IPL earlier this year. He was also the leading wicket for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in his debut IPL season in sr2011, picking up 21 wickets.

Aravind possesses the unique ability of being able to swing his arms and roll his wrist as well, adding another weapon to India’s ammunition. With India in need of another Zaheer Khan, it is all in Arvind beating the iron when it is hot.

#6 Kagiso Rabada

Rabada has failed to impress since his dream debut against Bangladesh

He might be a new face in South African cricket but he stated off his career in blistering fashion with the best figures for a bowler on debut in ODIs, which also included a hat-trick. However, that has been his only up-to-the mark performance in the green jersey in ODIs till date and this tour shall be a crucial decider in his career.

He will be heading to India after a couple of good performances in the T20Is against New Zealand. He is a part of both the T20 and the ODI side and he can be the trump card for the visitors. Though his domestic numbers don’t speak a lot, his decent pace, if married with good accuracy, can topple the batsmen.

The tour shall be a tough one for the youngster, probably the toughest in his career till date. If he is to become a long-term asset of the Proteas, he has to make the best use of his ‘mystery bowler’ factor.