Abhishek Sharma And…? 3 Indian players likely to fail in the T20Is in South Africa | cricket.one

Abhishek Sharma is prone to inconsistency (Source: @SPORTYVISHAL/X)

Tonight, India will take on South Africa in the first T20I of the four-match series at Kingsmead in Durban. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, the visitors have a formidable team full of reckless players.

Apart from skipper Suryakumar, India will be dependent on Sanju Samson, who will be keen to capitalize on his red-hot form. The explosive keeper-batsman recently hit a belligerent hundred in his previous T20I outing against Bangladesh.

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Besides him, Hardik Pandya could also play a key role for India as he can be the visitors’ commander-in-chief with bat and ball. Meanwhile, there are several players who may not live up to the hype in the South African series, as noted below.

Abhishek Sharma

The swashbuckling left-handed batsman received his maiden T20I call-up during India’s Zimbabwe tour after his impressive IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, he has not done anything significant so far, apart from a century, which he hit in his first series against the Chevrons.

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There’s no doubt about his hard-hitting abilities; his temperament has stopped Abhishek Sharma from being successful in international cricket. He has made starts but failed to convert them into significant scores. The South African pacers will also test his technique, which came under scrutiny after his poor performances against Bangladesh. In such a scenario, it won’t be surprising if Abhishek fails to make an impact in this series.

Varun Chakravarthy

The crafty finger spinner made a remarkable comeback into the Indian T20I squad and showcased his skills in the recently concluded Bangladesh series. He deceived the Bangladesh batters with his trickery and he is expected to repeat the same success in South Africa.

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However, the pitches in South Africa generally do not provide any help to the spin bowlers. Moreover, the Proteas have an experienced middle-over, consisting of players like Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, who play spin very well. So Varun Chakravarthy is unlikely to be as effective in South Africa as he is on home soil.

Tilak Varma

Another player who may not live up to expectations against the Proteas is Tilak Varma. The stylish left-hander has not played at the highest level for some time. He played his last T20 International when Afghanistan toured India in January.

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Apart from the lack of match practice, Tilak’s recent form could hurt his chances in South Africa. He was unimpressive as a batsman in the recently concluded Emerging Asia Cup, scoring 117 runs at a poor strike rate of 120.61. So, his scoring percentage is something he needs to work on to turn his fortunes around and cement his place in the Indian T20I lineup.