India will host South Africa for five T20Is from June 9.
After Gujarat Titans (GT) were crowned champions of the IPL 2022, the focus now shifts to international cricket as India is ready to host South Africa for a five-match T20I series beginning June 9 at home.
The series will mark the resumption of India's preparation for the T20 World Cup 2022, which will take place later in October in Australia.
Sunil Gavaskar, former India captain, has an "explosive" idea for Team India head coach Rahul Dravid ahead of the series.
Hardik Pandya will return to the Indian team for the first time since the 2021 T20 World Cup, after which he was rehabbing from a back ailment. The selectors rewarded him with an India call-up after his outstanding performance as an all-rounder for GT in the IPL 2022.
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Gavaskar praised Pandya's performance in the competition, saying that if Hardik and Rishabh Pant bat at No. 5 and 6 for India, they are capable of making the most of the last 6 overs or so.
"I think he'll probably be slotted at five or six. Just imagine, if India has a Hardik Pandya and a Rishabh Pant at five or six. They can probably swap around a little bit -- that is going to be some explosive combination from the 14th to the 20th over. In six overs, you can probably expect even may be 100-120 runs. They are capable of doing that. So, that's going to be an exciting aspect. That's something I'm really looking forward to -- Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya batting at five or six," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
In IPL 2022, Hardik scored 487 runs with an average of 44.27 and a strike rate of 131.27. He also took eight wickets at a 7.28 economy rate.