The Proteas A team are all set to begin their unofficial tour of India as they square off against India A in 5 unofficial ODI’s and a couple of unofficial Tests. The opening unofficial ODI will be played tomorrow and both teams have some exceptional players at their disposal. As the national team is busy with the Test series in West Indies, there are several limited-overs stars who will be part of the series.
While India A will be led by Manish Pandey, Temba Bavuma, another international cricketer who will don the captaincy hat for South Africa. The Indian squad also boasts of experienced international players like Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed.
1st Unofficial ODI: India A vs South Africa A
Venue: Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Date and Time: 29th August, 09: 00 AM IST
The India A team looks a strong team on paper and will definitely start as the favourites for the 5 match bilateral series. The likes of Ishan Kishan and Shubhman Gill are expected to open the innings with Manish Pandey coming in at No 3.
Nitish Rana, Vijay Shankar and Krunal Pandya have the experience and will look to provide some important runs in the middle order. The bowling department also looks solid with Yuzvendra Chahal and Khaleel Ahmed leading the way.
Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Manish Pandey (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, Vijay Shankar, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed
India A squad
Manish Pandey (c), Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Nitish Rana, Shivam Dube, Krunal Pandya, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ricky Bhui, Ishan Kishan (wk), Anmolpreet Singh, K Khaleel Ahmed
The Proteas squad led by Temba Bavuma is loaded with inexperienced players. Reeza Hendricks is expected to open the innings with Qeshile. The middle-order will be led by Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn and Heinrich Klassen. The bowling department is an inexperienced one. However, the likes of Beuran Hendricks and Junior Dala have past experiences of playing for the senior team.
South Africa A Predicted Playing XI
Sinethemba Qeshile, Reeza Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Heinrich Klaasen, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Anrich Nortje, Junior Dala, Beuran Hendricks
Gihahn Cloete, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma (c), Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Junior Dala, George Linde, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Wiaan Mulder, Lutho Sipamla, Anrich Nortje, Janneman Malan, Matthew Breetzke, Sinethemba Qeshile.
IN-A vs SA-A Dream11 Combination
Wicketkeepers: Ishan Kishan
Batsmen: Heinrich Klassen, Nitish Rana, Reeza Hendricks, Shubman Gill, Theunis de Bruyn
All-rounders: Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar
Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed, Beuran Hendricks
Shubman Gill: The top-order batsman is still in his early days but has already made a name for himself with his compactness at the crease and his strokeplay. In 47 List A matches, Shubma Gill has scored nearly 2000 runs at an impressive average of 47. He should e a sensible captain option.
Yuzvendra Chahal: The leg spinner needs no introduction. He has been one of the pick of the Indian bowlers in the last two years. The leggie has an exceptional ODI record and has bagged 71 wickets in 40 ODI’s at an average of 23. Besides that, Chahal has a good record against South Africa.