Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has picked his preferred Team India playing XI for the first T20I against South Africa. However, he did not add big names like Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube. Team India head into the final phase of the road to the 2026 T20 World Cup, with the series opener against South Africa scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack as well.

“Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah,” Irfan Pathan named the playing XI of his choice on his YouTube channel. “Is this playing XI possible? Will they go for such a combination? Harshit Rana has done well with the ball recently, and we saw in Australia that he played a good knock. So, will the Indian team back him for the No.8 role?”

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However, Team India have a well-settled squad with various options for each department as well. Meanwhile, picking a playing XI has been a difficult task for the team management, as they have multiple names that have to be left on the bench as well.

“We gave Sanju Samson opportunities; he was ready to bat at any number. It’s good to see a player being ready to bat in any position. From 3–6, anywhere. I have told this to all the batters: other than the openers, everyone has to be flexible,” Suryakumar Yadav said during the pre-match press conference. “Both are in the scheme of things. It’s always good to have both of them as part of the squad. One can open, one can bat lower down the order. Both can do all the roles. It’s an asset to our team and a good headache to have.”