Will Mohammed Siraj make the cut? India's predicted playing XI for 2nd T20I against South Africa
India will be hoping to make it two wins in a row against South Africa on Sunday.
India will be looking to continue their winning run when they take on South Africa in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Sunday (October 02). The hosts thrashed the Proteas by eight wickets in the series-opener to go 1-0 up after a clinical bowling performance.
Despite leading in the three-match series, India have more questions than answers as fast as the team combination for the upcoming T20 World Cup is concerned as ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out due to a back injury. Bumrah is reportedly set to miss the T20 World Cup, or at least the start of the tournament.
In his absence, India's pace attack looks imbalanced and the onus will fall on the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh to step up and deliver during the World Cup. While Bhuvneshwar has been rested from the South Africa series, Mohammed Siraj has been roped in as a replacement for Bumrah in the ongoing three-match rubber.
Also Read:No like-to-like replacement for Jasprit Bumrah in the world, let alone India: Shane Watson
However, Siraj is unlikely to get a chance in the playing XI in the second T20I as the host will be looking to use the trio of Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep and Harshal in the game after their brilliant performance in the series-opener. Arshdeep and Chahar had picked up five wickets between them to run through South Africa's top order.
Axar Patel and R Ashwin are likely to be the two spinners in the bowling attack as no major changes are expected from the line-up that played the first T20I. In the batting department, KL Rahul will be under the scanner once again after he was criticised for his sluggish knock in the first game.
While he slammed an unbeaten 51, Rahul's strike rate of 91.07 didn't please many. Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav will be hoping to continue their fine form with the bat to help India make it two wins on the trot against the Proteas.
India's predicted playing XI for the 2nd T20I against South Africa:
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh