Ruturaj Gaikwad will miss the second T20I against South Africa. The match between the two teams will take place at St George’s Park, Gqeberha. It will be an important match for both teams since the first match was canceled due to rain.
South Africa won the toss and opted to play first. As the lineups of both teams were out, what caught the attention of many was that Ruturaj Gaikwad’s name was not in the Indian XI, especially after his heroics in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia.
The fact that Ruturaj Gaikwad was not in the XI caused quite a surprise. However, the reason why he did not play the second T20I against South Africa has been revealed. According to BCCI, it is known that the batsman is not keeping the pace well and is ill.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was unavailable for selection due to illness and Shubman Gill has been included in the XI in his place. The right-hander was not part of the Australia series and it will be a great opportunity for him to make his case for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
🚨 Here is the #TeamIndia playing XI 🔽
Follow the game 👉 https://t.co/4DtSrebAgI
: Ruturaj Gaikwad was not available for selection for the second #SAvIND T20I due to illness. pic.twitter.com/K52YOOgbwn
– BCCI (@BCCI) December 12, 2023
India captain Suryakumar Yadav at the toss said: “I am very happy to be here and happy to know that there is some cricket around here. We were confused about what to do, but now we are very happy to bat first. It is an opportunity for everyone who plays this game. There are still 5 or 6 months until the World Cup. “Just have fun is the message to the team.”
IND vs SA: India and South Africa Playing 11 for second T20I in absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad
India opted for the combination of three pacers and two spinners. They also played Tilak Varma ahead of Shreyas Iyer in the XI.
Here is the Indian XI for the game:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar
South Africa, on the other hand, has only played one roulette in Tabraiz Shamsi. Here is the XI for the second T20I against India:
Matthew Breetzke, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Gerald Coetzee, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi
