India vs South Africa: From Shreyas Iyer to Mohammed Siraj, India players to watch out for in Tests

Virat Kohli faces arguably his biggest test yet as India Test skipper - a Test series win on South African soil has eluded India in the past and task will be cut out for Kohli and his men to end that long wait.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has wreaked havoc in South Africa, with domestic fixtures being affected, but the India-South Africa series is set to go ahead, albeit a curtailed tour sans the T20Is, and all matches set to be played behind closed doors.

But that doesn’t dampen the excitement of cricket fans, and there will be a lot to look forward to.

India’s pace bowling combination, how they make do without the likes of Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja -Virat Kohli and Co will face stiff challenges, and it will not be easy in the rainbow nation.

Ahead of the South Africa Test series, we take a look at India players to watch out for:

Shreyas Iyer

The 27-year-old Shreyas Iyer has been a prominent figure in the Indian white-ball setup since his T20I and IDI debuts in late 2017, but it wasn’t until November this year, would he go onto represent India in the Test format.

He made his Test debut against New Zealand on 25 November in the first Test at Kanpur’s Green Park, and as they say, first impression is the best impression.

India won the toss and opted to bat first in that match, and Shreyas Iyer added more stability to that playing XI that did not feature the rested skipper Virat Kohli. The top-order contributed a lot of runs, and fifties from Shubman Gill (52) and Ravindra Jadeja (50) were complimented by a fine knock of 105 from Shreyas.

The way Shreyas batted with such flair and elegance, it seemed as though he had been in the Test arena for ages.

Shreyas followed that with a composed knock of 65 (125 balls) in the second innings, to roundoff a memorable Test debut.

He may not have been able to replicate his form in the second Test in Mumbai, as he endured scores of 18 and 14, but that does not make his role in the team less important.

Having said that, Shreyas, could in fact be the team’s X factor and will be expected to get some crucial runs on the board.

R Ashwin

The all-rounder from Tamil Nadu needs no introduction. Ravichandran Ashwin has been in the Test arena for 10 years now, but what might come as a surprising fact is that he has only played South Africa in South Africa thrice throughout his career.

Ashwin has picked up seven wickets from three Tests he has played in the rainbow nation, but that comes with a bowling average of over 46. However, his record over Proteas read much better with 53 scalps in 10 Test matches at an average of 19.75.

Despite his lack of playing Tests in South Africa, Ashwin remains a crucial part of the side, especially given the injured Ravindra Jadeja’s absence, making him the senior-most spinner in the team for South Africa, along with Jayant Yadav.

The conditions are set to be pace-friendly in South Africa, and Ashwin will be up for a challenging few  weeks there.

In terms of recent performances, Ashwin picked up 14 wickets from the two Tests against New Zealand at home at a bowling average of just 11.36, all this including two four-fers, and given that there’s been a significant gap between the last series and the forthcoming South Africa series, it would have given Ashwin a chance to refresh himself, and get going once again.

Jasprit Bumrah

The lethal pacer in Jasprit Bumrah will be raring to go, come the South Africa Test series. The tour to the rainbow nation will be an opportunity for him to start afresh once again. To put things into context, Bumrah was rested for the T20Is as well as the Tests against New Zealand, following a hectic season that included India’s Test tour to England, remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the T20 World Cup in the UAE.

Bumrah did seem out of his usual touch in the World Test Championship against New Zealand earlier this year in June, but made a strong statement against England in England, picking up 18 wickets from four Tests at an average of 20.83.

Bumrah’s Test record against South Africa in South Africa speaks for itself. He made his Test debut against the Proteas during the 2017-18 tour to South Africa during the Cape Town Test, so it will be like things coming full circle for the 28-year-old.

Bumrah ended up as India’s second highest wicket-taker that series (14 wickets from three games) behind Mohammed Shami  In the third Test of that series in Johannesburg, Bumrah scalped a memorable five-wicket haul (5/54) as India went onto win that Test by 63 runs.

Bumrah is said to be lethal with the new ball and one must expect his reverse swing to play a crucial role.

Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal has an impeccable record against South Africa. 340 runs from three matches (All at home) at an average of 85, with a highest score of 215, Agarwal will now be hoping to replicate the same at the South African soil.

India head to the series without their batting mainstays in Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, so that could make Mayank an automatic choice for the Tests.

More importantly, Mayank is coming off a productive second Test against New Zealand where he scored 150 and 62 across the two innings in Mumbai. He may have retained the trust of the team management with a couple of fine knocks. Notably, that century was Mayank’s first in the Test format in two years (His previous one coming against Bangladesh, a knock of 243.

In South Africa, Mayank’s role in the side will not change. He will be in-charge of getting his team off to flawless starts, more so with the absence of Rohit and Shubman, his task will be even cut out.

Mohammed Siraj

Pace-friendly tracks in South Africa mean that the likes of Mohammed Siraj will in fact play a crucial role there. The bowling combination is one that will be talked upon building upto the Test series. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami remain two obvious choices to lead the Indian bowling setup, but then comes a choice between Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma.

However, the latter’s place in the playing XI could be under serious threat given his lack of rhythm in producing results. Yes, he did pick up five wickets in the Lord’s Test against England, but he found the going tough in the Leeds Test that followed, and the much recent Kanpur Test against New Zealand. He ended wicketless in both those matches.

Since the start of 2018, Ishant has picked up 85 wickets in 26 matches, but this year, his form statistically hasn’t been promising. He’s just taken 14 wickets this year at an average of over 32.

The Boxing Day Test against South Africa will mark one year since Siraj’s debut. He made his Test debut on Boxing Day against Australia last year, and since then, he has made a case for himself with 33 scalps in 10 wickets to his name. Understandably, he hasn’t played a Test against South Africa, so this gives him a perfect opportunity to make his mark against a challenging Test side.

India could go ahead with a five-man bowling attack, with Shardul Thakur and R Ashwin also having the ability to perform with the bat, and come Boxing Day, Siraj will be hoping to make the cut against the Proteas.