After the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Indian players will be seen in action in the five-T20I series against South Africa at home from June 9 to June 19.
For the T20I series, emerging stars like Umran Malik and Mohsin Khan could be rewarded a place in the squad for their IPL performances while veteran campaigners Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik are likely to return to the T20 set-up, PTI reported.
The Chetan Sharma-led selection committee is due to announce the T20I squad on Sunday (May 22).
According to the report, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has not played for India since the T20 World Cup 2021, is set to be included in the squad after he proved his form and fitness while leading Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing IPL.
After a two-month long IPL, India’s all-format players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to be rested for the home T20I series.
In that case, either Dhawan, who led in Sri Lanka last year, or Hardik, who has GT brilliantly in IPL 2022, could be handed over the captaincy responsibility.
Just like previous seasons, youngsters have made their mark in the ongoing IPL. While Umran Malik has caught everyone’s attention with his raw pace, left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan has impressed with his speed and accuracy.
Since left-arm pacers are always in demand at the highest level, Mohsin could get receive his maiden India call-up on Sunday.
Another left-arm pacer in the contention is Arshdeep Singh, who stood out with his economy rate and ability to bowl yorkers in the IPL 2022 season.
In the batting department, Tilak Varma showed a lot of promise in his maiden IPL season and might get a nod for the South Africa series.
The likes of Deepak Hooda and Venkatesh Iyer were tried in the middle-order against West Indies and Sri Lanka earlier this but they failed to set the stage on fire in this year’s IPL. Therefore, it remains to be seen if either of them retains his place or selectors give preference to IPL form.
Dinesh Karthik has made a strong case for the finisher’s role with his exploits for RCB and he is likely to make another comeback in the Indian team.
Rahul Tewatia, who has finished games for GT from improbable situations this season, might also get a look in for the South Africa series.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have also grabbed headlines with their performances in IPL 2022 and both the wrist-spinners might be seen bowling in tandem for India once again.
(With PTI inputs)
