Team India starts practice without Hardik Pandya for 1st T20I against SA

 

New Delhi [India], June 6 (ANI): Ahead of the first T20I of the five-match series against South Africa, Team India started practising, here at the Arun Jaitely Stadium on Monday.

The players were seen sweating it out in the hot weather of Delhi but the newly IPL winning captain Hardik Pandya was missing from the squad as he has not joined the team yet.

"No, he is not with us yet. But he might join us by tomorrow. Everything is fine and you will be definitely seeing him on the ground on June 9," a source from BCCI told ANI.

Hardik will be making his comeback to the Team India squad, after his successful stint in IPL 2022, where he guided Gujarat Titans to the title in their maiden season.

As Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been rested from the series, Team India will be led by KL Rahul along with Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain. After delivering great performances in IPL 2022, pacers Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik got their maiden Team India call-up for the series.

India's squad: KL Rahul (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain)(WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik.

South Africa's squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen.