India VS South Africa T20I: Does the Indian team's strategy of rotating players for the South Africa series make sense?

From observing fresh talent closely in IPL 2022 to giving them a fair run of chance in the tournaments, coach Rahul Dravid did it all to find the right fit for players.

The team's management appears to be very stable regarding their player selection, with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav at the top. Now it's time for the last series against South Africa before the T20 World Cup, and team India is still on a rotation policy.

The three-match series against Australia saw various concerns for Rohit Sharma and Co. that needed to be addressed in this last chance before the mega tournament. This involves a significant problem in death bowling.

When India lost two crucial matches in Asia Cup due to Bhuvneshwar Kumar's failure as a death-over bowler, many cricket pundits believed it would get better once Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel returned from recovery. But the scenario hasn't been the same. After Bhuvneshwar's struggle in Asia Cup, India witnessed Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah battle in death overs.

Skipper Rohit Sharma said, "There are a lot of areas, particularly, our death bowling coming to the party. Those two (Harshal and Bumrah) are coming after a long time. They are coming after a break, they will take time. Hopefully, they can get back in the groove."

And now, for the three-match series against South Africa, India misses out on the services of Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as they head to NCA for conditioning before the World Cup, which is essential for them considering their injury history.

The Men in Blue would have liked to test Mohammed Shami in the shortest format, but Covid affected those plans. This has forced the management to keep Umran Malik in the pipeline as the substitute.

The rotation policy might not look like a good idea just before the World Cup, especially when South Africa is coming with a full-strength squad. However, the decision seems fair and conditional, looking at all parameters.

Resting Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya will enable Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah to be tested as a duo in the death over. In contrast, Harshal Patel can be pushed for initial overs. Also, if the team intends, they can give a game to Deepak Chahar, who has been included in reserves for the World Cup.

India will host South Africa for three T20I matches from 28 September to 4 October at Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, and Indore. This will be followed by a three-match ODI series against them from 6 October to 11 October at Lucknow, Ranchi, and Delhi.

Shikhar Dhawan will likely head the ODI series with Sanju Samson as deputy. As the World Cup participating players depart for Australia on 6th October, new players can be seen getting called up for the series with VVS Laxman in charge.  

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