The Indian team during a training session in Cuttack. (PTI photo) THE CUT: India have 10 T20 international teams in hand before the FIFA World Cup begins next February, and it’s dress rehearsal time before the final act gets under way with two months to go. Suryakumar Yadav’s team, which is scheduled to open its World T20 title defense against the USA on February 7 in Mumbai, will take on Aiden Markram’s South Africa in the first of the five-match series at the Barabati Stadium on Tuesday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!The men in blue will be firmly focused on fine-tuning a championship team that they hope will be able to carry the weight of expectation in front of their home crowd, but the focus in Cuttack will be on the return of vice-captain Shubman Gill, who was ruled out with a neck injury in the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata on November 14. skill training and some training so I feel much, much better,” Gill told bcci.tv. India will be further boosted by the return of Hardik Pandya, who is also back from injury.
Suryakumar Yadav press conference: on T20 game plan for South Africa Sanju, Dube and India
India will play another five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January next year, and collectively and individually, the 360-degree man would certainly be keen to seize the opportunity. Yadav’s men have won 26 of their completed 30 T20I matches since winning the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in 2024 and have a stunning run of form and record.Gill’s return after missing the month-long event will make for a powerful opening stand with his best friend Abhishek Sharma in terrific form. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Punjab, the southpaw amassed 304 runs at a strike rate of nearly 250. An average of nearly 51, the flamboyant opener’s 148 from 52 balls against Bengal was the highlight of his SMAT achievements this season. The middle order also looks balanced, barring the option of bowling all-rounders Pandya and Shivam Dubey. Although he is fit to play and trained alone for over an hour on Sunday, Pandya was absent during Monday afternoon’s training session.Tilak Varma and wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson are sure to retain their places along with the skipper, who will be eager to fire on all cylinders and leave behind his sub-par returns with the bat in recent times. The T20I captain failed to score a half-century in his last 20 innings and five SMAT matches where he scored just 165 runs.All-rounder left-arm spinner Axar Patel is an automatic choice with his ability to bat in a variety of positions. Jasprit Bumrah, rested for the ODI series, will lead the two-pace attack along with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, while Kuldeep Yadav, with his recent form and performances, is likely to partner Varun Chakravarthy in the spin bowling department. Missing key players – batsman Tony de Zorzi and pacer Kwena Maphaka – through injury, South Africa will be boosted by the return of Anrich Nortje after 16 months out. Temper will return to the international scene after last playing the T20 World Cup final against India in 2024. Enduring poor form in T20Is following the 2024 World Cup final loss to India, all-rounders Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch will carry the Proteas’ hopes of a good preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup.With a red-soil pitch replacing the traditional black-soil this time around, the Barabati track is likely to offer more bounce and the balls will travel fast, giving ample reason to hope for a run-fest here on Tuesday night. But pitchers will face the usual dew-setting difficulties at the start of this time of year.
