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Gaikwad & Bishnoi Out, Shubman Gill In; Here's India's Playing XI For 1st T20I Vs South Africa

image-lpxiyvlbRuturaj Gaikwad could be benched as Shubman Gill is back in the setup [AP]

On Sunday, India will kickstart their much-awaited tour of South Africa with the first T20I of the three-match series against the host nation. The series holds significant importance for team India, as the players would like to fine-tune their grey areas before the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States. 

Recently, Suryakumar Yadav led a young Indian team to a comprehensive 4-1 series victory over Australia on home soil. In Hardik Pandya's absence, Suryakumar will continue to lead the team, which sees the return of several key players, who didn't participate in the Australia series due to workload management. 

The likes of Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj have made their comeback to the T20I setup and are set to be given the first preference in the playing XI. So, before the game begins, let's analyse and find out the probable XI of team India for the first T20I against the Proteas. 

India's Probable Playing XI For 1st T20I Vs South Africa

As first-choice opener Shubman Gill has returned to the squad, India might bench Ruturaj Gaikwad, who featured in the recently concluded home series against Australia. Also, Ravindra Jadeja will replace Axar Patel, who didn't make it into the team despite being impressive in the Australia series. 

Furthermore, with Kuldeep Yadav present in the squad, we don't see Ravi Bishnoi playing as the lead spinner ahead of him. 

The pace bowling department will most probably comprise Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh. 

India's probable playing XI (Case-1)

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj

In another move, India might include Ishan Kishan as their keeper-batter, as he hit two consecutive fifties in the Australia series. If Ishan opens and dons the keeping gloves, we might see Jaiswal being benched and Tilak Varma replacing Jitesh Sharma in the middle order. 

India's probable playing XI (Case-2)

Ishan Kishan (WK), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh