New Delhi: The South Africans will open their extended tour of India with a warm-up T20 game against Board President’s XI at the Palam grounds here on Tuesday hoping to get a feel of conditions that await them over the next 70-odd days.
Led by explosive hitter Faf du Plessis, the Proteas will be minus their Test skipper, Hashim Amla, who will land here later this week owing to “personal commitments’ but will still muster a strong team that also includes the world’s best all-round batsman, AB de Villiers. Up against them will be a group of young men who have much to prove. The selectors have opened the door to performers ahead of this series, sending a strong signal to those aspiring for an India cap, and Mandeeop Singh’s Board XI will be keen to make the most of the opportunity.
With as many as three T20 internationals and five one-dayers on the immediate schedule, the South Africans are aware they will need to hit their straps quickly, and this game is their only real opportunity for match practice ahead of the opener at Dharamshala later this week week.
The visitors are a blend of youth and experience with at least three seniors — du Plessis himself, AB de Villiers and J.P. Duminy — likely to lead the batting charge alongside allrounder David Miller, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock. The bowling unit, even minus Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel (for the T20 series) is a strong one with Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, leg-spinner Imran Tahir and Kyle Abbott in the mix with some relative newcomers to the international scene. Board XI — effectively an India ‘B’ team since the A side under Rahul Dravid’s tutelage is currently busy against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Bengaluru — have a few names that have been doing the rounds based on IPL, Mushtaq Ali and Ranji Trophy performances, Besides Mandeep, who had a profitable 2014 IPL season, Manan Vohra, Manish Pandey, fellow Karnataka bat Mayank Agarwal and Sanju Samson will form the core of the batting unit for the hosts, while spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi and Kuldeep Yadav will want to leave a mark ahead of the World T20 at home next year. The new ball is likely to be shared by Rishi Dhawan and Anureet Singh for this day fixture.
