India vs South Africa, 1st T20I – South Africa Predicted XI vs India: Will Wayne Parnell Make His Return After Five Years? | Cricket News

South Africa will take on a slightly depleted Team India in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday. The Proteas will be boosted by the return of star pacer Anrich Nortje, who has missed a fair bit of action due to an injury. Wayne Parnell has also earned a recall, having not featured for South Africa in T20Is since 2017. However, wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock’s form will be key for the Proteas.

Here’s how South Africa might line up against India in first T20I:

Quinton de Kock: The wicketkeeper-batter had a good season with the bat in the Indian Premier League. He scored 508 runs in 15 matches, and helped his team in qualifying for the playoffs. His form will be key for South Africa in this series.

Aiden Markram: The right-handed batter had a good season with the bat in the IPL. He scored 381 runs in 14 matches while batting slightly down the order. He now will look to give good starts to South Africa at the top of the order.

Rassie van der Dussen: The right-batter has played an important part in the revival of South African cricket. However, van der Dussen failed to get much playing time in the IPL. He will look to play an important role for South Africa in the series.

Temba Bavuma: The Proteas skipper hasn’t played any cricket since the Bangladesh Test series in March-April earlier this year. However, a player of Bavuma’s calibre can fire at any moment.

David Miller: After helping Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut season, David Miller will look to play a similar role for South Africa in this series.

Reeza Hendricks: Fresh after scoring a hundred for South Africa ‘A’ during the recently-concluded tour of Zimbabwe, Reeza Hendricks will hope to continue with the same momentum. His form in the lower middle-order will be key for South Africa.

Wayne Parnell: The 32-year-old has been out of the South Africa T20 team for five long years, having last played against England in Southampton in 2017. The left-arm pacer has also been out of action since March, and will keen to hit the ground running.

Keshav Maharaj: The left-arm spinner had an excellent home series against Bangladesh. He will look to perform on the same wavelength in this series.

Kagiso Rabada: With 23 wickets in 13 matches, Kagiso Rabada was one of the star performers of the recently-concluded IPL season. He will look to deliver the goods with the ball against India as well.

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Anrich Nortje: The lanky pacer did not get much playing in the IPL due to an injury. He, however, will be keen to hit the ground running, having recovered from the setback.

Tabraiz Shamsi: Shamsi hasn’t played much international cricket this year, but his form in the domestic ODI cup has been excellent. He is likely to get a lot of help from the spin-friendly tracks in India.