3 selection dilemmas for Team India ahead of the 1st T20I vs South Africa

Soon after their convincing 4-1 win over Australia, Team India are all set to take on another T20I assignment, this time in the Rainbow Nation. Suryakumar Yadav and his men will face off against South Africa in three T20Is, with the first game to be played in Durban on Sunday, December 10.

India have named a largely similar squad to the one that faced off against the Aussies. The likes of Axar Patel, Shivam Dube and Avesh Khan have been excluded, having been replaced by names such as Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav.

With a few big names returning to the squad, India, who shuffled around their playing XI in the last series, have some decisions to make ahead of the opening contest of the rubber.

India’s squad for the T20I series vs South Africa: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.

Here are three selection dilemmas for Team India ahead of the first T20I against South Africa.

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#3 Jitesh Sharma vs Ishan Kishan

Jitesh Sharma seems more suited to a middle-order role.

Who will be India's first-choice wicket-keeper against South Africa?

Ishan Kishan reeled off successive fifties in the first two T20Is against Australia before bagging a duck in the third. He was rested for Jitesh Sharma in the last two matches, with the 30-year-old playing a couple of enterprising cameos to make an impression.

Reports have suggested that the selectors have plenty of faith in Kishan, even if he has to bat in the middle order. However, with Shreyas Iyer present in the squad and best used at No. 3, the left-hander might not get his ideal role.

Jitesh is clearly more suited to batting at No. 5. Even if he isn't ahead of Kishan in the pecking order of wicket-keepers, the team composition could force India to field him.

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#2 Kuldeep Yadav vs Ravi Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi picked up nine wickets against Australia.

Ravi Bishnoi has had an excellent start to his T20I career so far, but the presence of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has meant that he has rarely got a good run of games to nail down his spot.

Chahal has rightfully fallen out of favor now, and Bishnoi seems to be locked in a battle with Kuldeep to be the team's premier spinner in the shortest format. The left-arm wrist-spinner has returned to the Indian team for the South African tour after being given a breather following the World Cup.

Bishnoi picked up nine wickets against Australia to finish as the Player of the Series, and dropping him would be harsh. At the same time, Kuldeep has been exceptional in white-ball cricket over the last two years and deserves his place too.

India might be able to find a way to field both in tandem when Hardik Pandya returns, but as of now, they are bound to choose one.

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#1 Shubman Gill vs Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Ruturaj Gaikwad

India have three quality options at the top of the order.

India are spoilt for choice at the top of the order, even with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Ishan Kishan not in line to open the batting against South Africa.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad formed India's opening combination against Australia, but there's now a new contender for the role in Shubman Gill. He has played only 11 T20Is so far but has already established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet across formats, so he is expected to be picked against South Africa.

However, there's still an outside chance that India opt to stick with Jaiswal and Gaikwad, benching Gill in the process. Ideally, the Men in Blue should consider opening with Jaiswal and Gill, who seem to form the perfect pairing at the top of the order.