South Africa T20I team arrives in New Delhi ahead of five-match series against India

New Delhi: The South Africa T20I side, led by Temba Bavuma, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday ahead of five-match series against India to be played from June 9 to 19. The series serves as the resumption of both teams’ preparations for the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later in the year.

This will be the third time South Africa will be playing a bilateral T20I series in India after October 2015 (won 2-0 by the Proteas) and September 2019 (drawn 1-1).

“Touchdown (India flag). #INDvSA #BePartOfIt,” wrote Cricket South Africa (CSA) with pictures of the team inside the bus after landing in New Delhi.

Though India have rested their main players Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah with K.L Rahul leading the side and Rishabh Pant serving as his deputy, South Africa are fielding a full-strength team comprising David Miller, who played a crucial hand in Gujarat Titans winning IPL 2022 apart from wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada.

Apart from the trio, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen and Tristan Stubbs had also made appearances in IPL 2022 for their respective teams, which means they are no stranger to Indian conditions.

The first match of the series, to be held on June 9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here, will act as a platform for the Indian team to chase a 13-match winning streak in T20Is. Currently, India are level with Afghanistan and Romania for most consecutive wins in T20Is at 12.

After the first T20I in New Delhi, India and South Africa will play their next matches in Cuttack on June 12, Visakhapatnam on June 14, Rajkot on June 17, and Bengaluru on June 19.

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (C), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen and Marco Jansen.