Upon their arrival in India, captain Temba Bavuma expressed concerns over who will open with Quinton de Kock and who will come in at 3.
Bavuma told the media that this India series will be an experiment to find the right combinations.
The India-South Africa T20I series gets underway next Thursday, 9 June. The main question in the minds of many fans is who will open with Quinton de Kock in this series?
Will it be Reeza Hendricks or Bavuma?
Who will come in at three?
“That’s an area we’d like to solidify a bit better,” Bavuma told the media on Saturday morning.
It’s no secret, that the batting hasn’t finally gelled together as a unit. The bowling, on the other hand, has been solid.
The availability of both Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi makes it stronger. Then the tall Marco Jansen brings the X-factor to an already glittering attack.
“If you look with our bowling, there’s a lot more solidity, a bit more clarity there with the bowling,” said Bavuma.
But from a batting point of view, there are question marks. Does Bavuma have the strike rate the team needs for a number 3 batter?
Should he open with De Kock?
Where does that leave Reeza Hendricks?
In the middle order, the young Tristan Stubbs is a favourite for the number 6 spot. Heinrich Klaasen is on tour as well and can slot in at the same sixth spot in the batting lineup.
“I think with the batting in these games we’ll be trying to find those combinations, more particularly who partners up with Quinton upfront. The number 2 and number 3 positions are probably where we’d like to get more clarity,” said Bavuma.
“But I think everything else will continue as it is, our middle order is our middle order. We’ve got a nice set of all-rounders, it’s more particularly at the top (where we need more clarity)”
The first of the five T20I will be hosted at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.
India T20I series vs South Africa itinerary:
09 June 1st T20I Delhi
12 June 2nd T20I Cuttack
14 June 3rd T20I Vizag
17 June 4th T20I Rajkot
19 June 5th T20I Bengaluru
