Ravi Shastri picks India’s best playing XI for the 1st T20I against South Africa

Ravi Shastri picks India’s best playing XI for the 1st T20I against South Africa

Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri picked up his best playing XI ahead of the India vs South Africa T20 series which will be played on Thursday, June 9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and KL Rahul were the first to come to Shastri’s mind for the opening batsmen. He then picked Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant as the middle-order batsmen.

“I think they will go with the guys they will want to see first – the Rahuls, the Ruturaj Gaikwads – maybe they will open. They will probably give Ishan (Kishan) a break in this game or bat him at three,” Shastri was quoted as saying on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.

Hardik Pandya was also on his list. Pandya had made a comeback to cricket when he led Gujarat Titans to victory in IPL 2022.

“If you bat him (Ishan) at three, then it will be Shreyas (Iyer) at No. 4, (Rishabh) Pant at No. 5 and Hardik (Pandya) at No. 6,” he stated.

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Ravi Shastri didn’t pick IPL 2022’s super striker Dinesh Karthik

Ravi Shastri
Dinesh Karthik

Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were his first choices for the bowling department. However, he’s doubtful about selecting speedster Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh who had bowled brilliantly in IPL 2022.

“No. 7 will be Axar Patel. I think eight will be Bhuvneshwar Kumar batting-wise, then Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik and Harshal Patel. Umran or Arshdeep depending on the ground and what the pitch is like,” Shastri added.

“I think if Bhuvi plays, then Umran is better, because Bhuvi can do a job for you at the death. But then again, you are looking for someone at the death, they are looking to develop that bowler. So if Harshal is going to do that, he plays that game,” Shastri added.

Ravi Shastri’s XI:

KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik, Harshal Patel.

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