It’s T20I time! The Indian cricket team has landed in Durban for the upcoming 4-match series against South Africa. With Gautam Gambhir busy elsewhere, planning for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, his teammate and current National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman has joined Suryakumar Yadav’s India as their head coach.
Indian players quizzed on South Africa
Before leaving for South Africa, some of the players were tested on their knowledge of their destination. Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel turned into interviews, asking their teammates some tough questions. Some of these queries were factual, others subjective. The Q&A started with Abhishek asking Tilak Verma, “Is South Africa the only country with three capitals in the world?” and ended with, “Does Axar Patel have the loudest laugh in the squad?”.
India’s form
21-1, that’s Team India’s record in 2024. They are currently on a 10-match winning streak, beating Zimbabwe 4-1, Sri Lanka 3-0, and Bangladesh 3-0. Of course, before that, they won the T20 World Cup 2024. Although Suryakumar Yadav‘s going into the tour with a side that has several young and inexperienced players and those who are making their comebacks, Team India is still expected to win.
IND vs SA T20I squads
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh. Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Patrick Kruger, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla (3rd and 4th T20Is), and Tristan Stubbs
India vs South Africa Schedule
- 1st T20I: November 8, Durban
- 2nd T20I: November 10, Gqeberha
- 3rd T20I: November 13, Centurion
- 4th T20I: November 15, Johannesburg