Five hints for the future from India’s squads for South Africa tour
India will tour South Africa for an all-format itinerary starting next month. The Men in Blue will play three T20Is and ODIs, while they will also play two Tests before ending the tour. The squads for all the formats were announced by the BCCI last night with quite a compelling questions raised.
India will have three different captains for each series, and the selection of a few players is intriguing. There are indications that the management has long-term planning and are approaching ahead accordingly. There are several fresh faces in the squad across formats, nicely blending with the experienced ones.
In this segment, we take a look at five hints for the future from India’s squads for the South Africa tour.
India over the Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli era in T20Is?
Before the squads were announced, there were several speculations and rumours that Rohit Sharma will be included in the T20I squad, and the management is also looking at Virat Kohli in the shortest format. However, both were absent from the team, with Suryakumar Yadav named as a captain in the absence of Hardik Pandya. It might be an indication that the staff is looking past the two veterans and trying to give as many chances as possible to the youngsters in T20Is.
Rohit and Kohli haven’t played a T20I since India’s ten-wicket defeat against England in the T20 World Cup 2022. It is wise to exclude them from this format, especially Rohit Sharma, who has been below-par in the previous few years. The format demands young and fearless players, and India already have plenty of them available, mainly due to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
While the official word is that Rohit and Kohli asked for a white-ball break, in the recent past India have chosen to “rest” several senior players and never looked back at them.
End of the road for Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara
Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been integral to India’s major victories in Tests in recent years. However, the duo have been a pale shadow of themselves for a while now and are rightly ignored for the South Africa tour. While Rahane was part of India’s previous Test assignment in the West Indies, he, along with Pujara, hasn’t found a place in the red-ball squad.
The team includes Shubman Gill, who will play as a middle-order batter, whereas the likes of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are also back after missing the previous tour due to injuries. They will form the middle order, which means Rahane and Pujara won’t be in contention for some time now. Rahane and Pujara have served India for a long time, but maybe it’s the end of the road for them.
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Ruturaj Gaikwad as an all-format batter
There are plenty of noticeable things in the selected squad, but the most interesting is the selection of Ruturaj Gaikwad for all the formats. Clearly, the team management is looking at Gaikwad as an all-format batter and has high hopes from the youngster, evident from his quick elevation into leadership roles in the recent past. Maybe his selection in the Test team is debatable, given there are a few batters with a better record than him in First Class cricket, but Gaikwad is a quality player.
It won’t be a surprise if Gaikwad cracks the red-ball format as well because he has the expertise to be a regular in every format. He is one for the future, and his selection in all the teams indicates that the management thinks the same. However, Gaikwad will have to be consistent as numerous others are waiting in the queue.
KL Rahul, the future ODI captain
India have just lost a home World Cup, which they were supposed to win, especially when they reached the final. But it’s time to move on now, and the ODI squad might have given a hint for the same. Rohit Sharma is 36 and might not play in the next World Cup or the Champions Trophy in 2025.
Hence, the management will have to find a new leader, and KL Rahul might be an ideal candidate. He has done quite well while batting in the middle order and has previous experience leading the side. After Rohit, KL Rahul seems to be taking over the charges in the 50-over format for India.
Ishan Kishan, first-choice T20I wicketkeeper
The T20I squad selected has two wicketkeeper batters – Ishan Kishan and Jitesh Sharma. India have persisted with Kishan in this format for a while now despite having the options of KL Rahul and Sanju Samson. It indicates that the management is looking at Kishan as a primary wicketkeeper batter for the T20 World Cup next year.
Kishan has his flaws, but he is an attacking batter, a brand India have looked to play in T20Is lately. With Jitesh being with the team consistently, India seem to have finalised their wicketkeepers for the mega event next year. Ishan Kishan has been flexible as a batter, playing as an opener or No.3 in T20Is.
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