The first batch of the Indian cricket team has landed in South Africa ahead of the three-match T20I series against Proteas, starting on December 10. The Men in Blue are on a one month long tour at Rainbow nation and are slated to play three T20Is, three ODIs and Two Tests from December 10 to January 7.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a video on its X handle (formerly Twitter), wherein players can be seen happily arriving at an airport in South Africa and receiving a warm welcome by hotel staff members.
The BCCI has sent the players batch-wise rather than the entire squad of all three formats. The first batch includes the T20i squad as the T20I series will be played first in the South Africa tour. Then, the second batch will consist of players who will be playing ODIs against Proteas. The third and final batch will include players for two-match Test series.
The seasoned players like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah will leave for South Africa after the conclusion of the white-ball series.
Team India to begin preparation for T20 World Cup 2024
The upcoming T20I series against South Africa will be Team India’s preparation for T20 World Cup 2024, which will take place in West Indies and USA.
Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the team in three T20Is against Proteas as Hardik Pandya is yet to recover from ankle injury, while Rohit Sharma is reportedly reluctant to return to the format despite BCCI convincing him.
The BCCI selection committee picked a young squad for the T20Is against South Africa. The squad includes the likes of Yashavi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Siraj, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma.
Rahul Dravid will continue to remain the head coach of Team India till T20 World Cup 2024.
