Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik performed brilliantly at IPL 2022 respectively. Thus, they have earned their maiden international call-ups for India’s upcoming five-match series against South Africa, starting from June 9 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
Can’t see both Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh making India's debut versus South Africa in first T20I, predicts Ravi Shastri
Ahead of the series, India’s former head coach Ravi Shastri came up with his thoughts on how Rahu the side will be led by KL Rahul.
Shastri believes, “I think they will go with the guys they will want to see first - the Rahuls, the Ruturaj Gaikwads - maybe they will open. They will probably give Ishan (Kishan) a break in this game or bat him at three," Shastri said on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan'.
"If you bat him (Ishan) at three, then it will be Shreyas (Iyer) at No. 4, (Rishabh) Pant at No. 5, and Hardik (Pandya) at No. 6. "No. 7 will be Axar Patel. I think eight will be Bhuvneshwar Kumar batting-wise, then Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik, and Harshal Patel. Umran or Arshdeep depending on the ground and what the pitch is like.
"I think if Bhuvi plays, then Umran is better because Bhuvi can do a job for you at the death. But then again, you are looking for someone at the death, they are looking to develop that bowler. So, if Harshal is going to do that, he plays that game.”
Along with Karthik, Shastri refrained from picking Venkatesh Iyer as well for the series opener.
Ravi Shastri's XI: KL Rahul (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Umran Malik, Harshal Patel.