There is a lot of speculation as far as team India’s South Africa tour is concerned. Injuries to the main players have only added to the selection headache. It is to note that Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane missed the second Test against New Zealand due to the injuries they suffered. In a new development, Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill might miss the upcoming South Africa tour due to their injuries.
The performance of Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill has been instrumental to team India’s success in the past few months, especially Jadeja who has contributed in all the departments. While Shubman Gill has scored runs, he couldn’t convert his starts into a big score. Having said that, his contribution at the top of the order has been crucial to the team.
India likely to make multiple changes in Test side, Shikhar Dhawan may return to ODI setup
India’s tour of South Africa will start from 26th December 2021. It is noteworthy that the tour was initially set to begin from 17th December, however, the Indian authorities have delayed the tour by over a week due to the Omicron scare in several countries, including southern Africa. This has given more time to the selectors to select a squad for the tour, but Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill will most likely miss the tour.
Apart from Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Ishant Sharma’s inclusion for the tour is highly doubtful as well. All four players have been suffering from one injury or the other. Jadeja has a ligament tear which will take a long time to heal and Gill’s shin injury has resurfaced which may cause problems on the tour. Both Jadeja and Gill could prove very useful for the team on the tour, but the chances of their inclusion are highly unlikely.
Reports suggest that Shikhar Dhawan who is currently having a roller coaster ride with the international setup may get included in the ODI squad. Dhawan last played for India in July 2021, when he led a second-string team in Sri Lanka. The opener was axed from the T20 World side and also didn’t get a place in the series against New Zealand.
It will be interesting to see the combination of the team that the selectors send for the South Africa tour. Team India will play the first Test in Centurion which will start on 26th December. The Indian team will play a total of 3 Tests and 3 ODIs on the tour.