3 India players who must find their groove back against South Africa
These players have been a bit sluggish in recent games and need to step up before it's too late.
The Men in Blue are all set to battle it out against South Africa in the three-match T20I series beginning on Wednesday. This is going to be a vital three games for the Indian team management and players as India will be flying out to Australia post this series for the T20 World Cup 2022. With the squad for the mega event already announced, this series will act as the final chance to finalize the preparations for the multi-nation event. Furthermore, some players would also like to get back to their best ahead of the T20 World Cup. Hence, these three games will be vital for a few players and in this post we will talk about 3 Indian players who must find their groove back against South Africa.
1. KL Rahul
The classy Indian opener recently returned from a lengthy injury layoff against Zimbabwe. He had an underwhelming run with the bat in the Asia Cup as he tried to adapt to India’s newly aggressive approach. KL Rahul reminded the world of his quality with an explosive fifty in the first T20 against Australia but failed to keep up the form in the next two matches. He will be key to India’s chances in the T20 World Cup and would like to be at his best before heading out to Australia.
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2. Yuzvendra Chahal
India skipper Rohit Sharma relies a lot on his premier leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for wickets during the middle phase of the innings. However, the witty leg-spinner hasn’t been at his best lately and it was pretty evident in the series against Australia. The right-handed leggie has accounted for only two wickets in three games against the Kangaroos and is a worrying sign for Men in Blue. The T20 World Cup is very close and India need their main spinners firing all cylinders at the moment. The South Africa series will serve as the last chance for Yuzi to turn things around for him.
3. Harshal Patel
After two consecutive successful IPL seasons and consistent performances in the Indian jersey, India found a reliable death bowler in Harshal Patel to partner with Jasprit Bumrah. However, an injury spoiled things for the witty pacer. While his name has already been announced in the T20 World Cup squad, many fans and experts are already raising their concerns after a tough series against Australia. Harshal Patel returned in the Australia T20I series and looked completely off-colour.
Harshal Patel had an economy rate of 12.37 across three games against Australia while scalping only one wicket. With a veteran like Mohammad Shami announced in the reserves, Harshal must find his form back against South Africa otherwise he might get dropped from the T20 World Cup squad.
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