India vs South Africa: Not Rohit Sharma, not Jasprit Bumrah - Numbers reveal India’s unlikely star in powerplay overs

The Indian selectors announced a largely young side for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.

Team India head coach Ravi Shastri outlined his plan as far as approaching the T20 format. He said that they have to look at different players for both the ODIs and T20Is and that younger players need to be given a longer rope to prosper in the shortest format. The Indian selectors announced a largely young side for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.

File image of Indian cricket team (Getty Images)

The batting looks settled with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma taking the stage at the top of the order. However, the bowling looks rather green and this is where, South Africa could target the young bowlers. However, there is pedigree in this young attack and Kohli will be keen to test them out.

There is Washington Sundar, who has quietly established himself as one the key bowlers for Kohli in the powerplay overs. Since his T20I debut in December 2017, the offie has picked up nine wickets in the Powerplay. Only Sri Lanka’s Akila Dananjaya, England’s David Willey, and Australia’s Billy Stanlake have more wickets in the first six overs. However, Sundar has played fewer number of games than all these bowlers which makes this achievement even more special.

Kohli could well use him up front as he would be quite a threat for Quinton de Kock. The captain has already said that is an exciting phase for him to see new guys expressing themselves on the field. “Every time you are approaching a world tournament, you treat it as a milestone and start preparing backwards. Each team has the same process. We have around 30 games before the T20I World Cup. The first couple of series are an opportunity to try and see what our best combination could be,” he said ahead of the match.