Only three players among 32 players are selected for all three formats for India’s tour of South Africa (IND vs SA), starting from December 10. With Ajit Agarkar-led selection ready to invest in youth in all the formats, these three players are definitely the future of Indian cricket for the next five to six years. Among 32 players, only Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Mukesh Kumar find themselves in Test, ODIs and T20 squads.
Shreyas Iyer is currently the talk of the town, owing to his scintillating returns in the recently concluded ODI World Cup. The right-hand batter scored 521 runs in the showpiece event, batting at the coveted number four position. It is this position, that has haunted India, especially in the white-ball formats. With a resounding performance in the World Cup, Iyer has certainly ticked that box.
Speaking about Gaikwad, the CSK superstar is finally able to translate his IPL success at the international level. Currently, the 26-year-old is the highest-scorer in the ongoing T20 series against Australia. In the three matches, Gaikwad has scored a hundred, as well as a fifty. Gaikwad was also part of the Test squad for the West Indies series, and the selectors feel he can replace Ajinkya Rahane.
Also Read
- IND vs AUS T20I series all you need to know
- India squad for South Africa tour likely next week
- Rahul Dravid to continue as India coach
- India squad for South Africa tour out
As far as Mukesh Kumar, the pacer has impressed the selectors in the ongoing T20 series by bowling very well in the death overs. In fact, The 29-year-old has the best economy rate among the pacers on either side of the team in the current T20 series. Also, Mukesh was part of the Test squad in the series against West Indies. He picked up 2 wickets.
IND vs SA: Selectors back Gaikwad, Iyer, Mukesh
With these three part of the squad, one thing is clear the trio of Shreyas Iyer, Gaikwad, and Mukesh will be preferred in all formats. Among the trio, Gaikwad is yet to make his Test debut, With no Ajinkya Rahane, Gaikwad could possibly bat at number five, a role Rahane aced in the longest format of the game. As far as Iyer, he will bat at number four position across formats.
In Test matches, Iyer may might have to bat at number five, since Kohli bats at number four. Mukesh is set to feature in the playing XI across formats along with Bumrah and Siraj.
India’s Squad For Test Series vs South Africa Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna
India ODI Squad
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C)(wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.
India T20I Squad:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.
Editors pick
