On May 22, India’s T20I squad for the upcoming series against South Africa was announced. This series is set to start on June 9. A lot of first-choice players have been rested for England tour. On the other hand, a lot of expected performers in the Indian T20 League 2022 and domestic cricket have been named in the squad. Also, there are a few players who have missed out on the selection.
One such player is Nitish Rana. Rana scored 361 runs in 14 games at an average of 27.77 and a strike rate of 143.82 for Kolkata in the ongoing 15th season. The left-hander was expecting himself to be named in the squad. However, he missed out on the selection. After the squad was announced by the BCCI, the Delhi player posted a Tweet. The Tweet says ‘Things will change soon’ which possibly meant that he is hopeful of his comeback to the national team.
Things will change soon ???
— Nitish Rana (@NitishRana_27) May 22, 2022
The 28-year-old has been scoring more than 300 runs in every Indian T20 League since joining the Kolkata team in 2018. Last year, he made his ODI and T20I debut on the tour of Sri Lanka, but failed to impress. He is a vastly experienced player in the domestic arena as well. The aggressive batter has played 153 T20 games. In these games, he has amassed 3545 runs averaging 27.91 and striking at 136.03.
Talking about the T20I squad for the series against the Proteas, players such as Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh have earned their maiden call-ups. Malik has been sensational with his genuine pace this year. On the other hand, Singh has been rewarded for his consistent performances in the cash-rich league since 2020. Players such as Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have made their comebacks in the team as well.
Karthik has been sensational with the bat, and has played the role of a finisher for Bangalore to perfection. While Pandya has led the Gujarat team from the front, Kumar was economical with the ball for Hyderabad. KL Rahul will lead the team and Rishabh Pant will be the vice-captain
India’s squad for the T20I series against South Africa:
KL Rahul (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
T20I Squad – KL Rahul (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(VC) (wk),Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 22, 2022
