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Predicting India’s squad for the SA T20I series if main players travel to England

Team India will take on South Africa in a five-match T20I series starting on June 9th. This series will happen at home. A few days later, the team will travel to England for a full-fledged tour. This assignment will include the one-off Test match on July 1st and 3 T20I and 3 ODI encounters after that. There are a few warm-up games and a short tour to Ireland in this itinerary, as well. Hence, the seniors traveling to England might not be selected for the South Africa series at home. On that note, in this article, we predict India’s squad for the SA T20I series if the main players travel to England.

The players who could travel to England: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Hanuma Vihari, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Prasidh Krishna.

Openers: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (WK), and Shikhar Dhawan

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, and Shikhar Dhawan will be the likely openers in India’s squad for the SA T20I series if the main players travel to England. While Shikhar will come in for his experience, the other two have been in the Indian squad recently. Hence, they are also likely to get a go. If Prithvi Shaw is fit, he might also get a chance in the XI.

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Middle-Order: Tilak Varma, Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson (WK), and Dinesh Karthik (WK)

It will be a fresh-looking middle-order for the upcoming T20I series. Tilak Varma is an opener but he was used by Mumbai Indians in a middle-order role. Hence, he could get a chance in the tournament. Rahul Tripathi is yet another uncapped player who could feature in this category.

Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson have been part of the recent tournaments in T20I cricket. Hence, they are likely to be included in the squad. Deepak Hooda will also add value as a part-time off-spin option. Dinesh Karthik has been in smashing form and will don the finisher’s role for India. Considering India will miss the seniors, the presence of DK will be of huge help to Team India. If Suryakumar Yadav is fit, he will surely feature in the squad.

All-Rounders: Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya

The Pandya brothers have done well in IPL 2022. Both of them have contributed to their respective franchises in all departments of the game. They are also experienced and might be in the mix for the event. Hardik will also be expected to be part of the leadership group after his success at Gujarat Titans. Krunal Pandya will act as the main all-rounder at No.7.

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Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Umran Malik Arshdeep Singh, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

There is likely to be a long list of bowlers who will be part of the upcoming series. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are certain picks in the spin department, especially after their show in IPL 2022.

While the pace department will be led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel is likely to take the spot at No.8 in the XI. Avesh Khan and Umran Malik will be the options to try keeping in mind the T20 World Cup in Australia. Mohsin Khan and Arshdeep Singh will provide the left-arm pace option for the management. Hence, they are likely to be selected.

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Nesara V Jagannatha

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