India had faced three frontline bowlers, two pacers and a spinner, in Cuttack. Will they change the bowling schedule in Mullanpur?
In Cuttack, India did not really show their best and yet managed to beat South Africa by 101 runs. You could point out the failures of the entire batting unit, that Jasprit Bumrah didn’t take a wicket in the powerplay, or maybe Axar Patel didn’t bowl enough.
In truth, none of that mattered. The Indian team is playing at such a level that even average performances are enough to win. You could say that India haven’t played a perfect T20I match in a while, but the Men in Blue are undefeated. The 2025 Asian Cup was Exhibit A.
This also means that a change here and a change there doesn’t make much of a difference. It’s not just the main XI that is exceptional, but the saves are just as good. This also means that the current management, captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir, have not hesitated to let go of players.
Will Arshdeep Singh continue?
Arshdeep Singh, India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is, has played only 2 matches in the Asia Cup. Kuldeep Yadav was left behind in Cuttack. Sanju Samson was unable to retain his place after being demoted to the middle order. For any other team, they all start, but for India, they are constantly benched to create the right balance.
The question is, will the playing XI change again in the 2nd T20I India vs South Africa? Many adjustments are made depending on the pitch. In Cuttack, Kuldeep was dropped due to surface helping spinners and dew factor. If any changes need to be made in the Mullanpur T20I, it will mainly be due to the pitch.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, we saw Punjab Kings supporting their fast bowlers more than their spinners. On several occasions, Yuzvendra Chahal did not even reach his quota of overs. This suggests that bringing in Kuldeep may not be the right idea. This means Arshdeep, for whom Mullanpur is his IPL home, will continue and India will field the same XI.
Samson for Gill or Dube?
Shubman Gill faced a lot of criticism. And rightly so. Since his return to the team in the Asia Cup, he has not scored a half-century. It’s now been 13 rounds. Shivam Dube doesn’t bat in every match, but his last half-century came in January. But the problem is that Samson still can’t get in.
It should be remembered that Gill was named the T20I vice-captain in July 2024. You cannot drop your deputy just a few months before the T20 World Cup 2026. Dube happens to be an all-rounder, someone who bowls. We can’t rate his bowling, but he offers a unique set of skills. Something that the inclusion of Samson cannot disguise.
India predict to play XI for 2nd South Africa T20I
Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Bench: Sanju Samson (week), Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar
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