Several senior players rested for the Indian T20I team in a series of five games against South Africa. The team has a new look as veterans such as Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya return to the team, while youngsters such as Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik and Ravi Bishnoi also find opportunities. Without such ones as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, the new-looking team is set to experiment with leading the Indian team until the T20 World Cup in 2022.

However, former Indian cricket player Mohammed Kaif was surprised to see Ravichandran Ashwin missing from the team. Ashwin played a key role in getting the Rajasthan Royals to reach the final of IPL 2022.

"Both India and South Africa have great squads. But in the Indian team, there is Chahal, Bishnoi, Axar. Where will you play the three leg-spinners? If you see the squad's balance, how can you play three leg-spinners in the team? I was somewhat disappointed to not see the name of R Ashwin. He was part of the team in the 2021 T20 World Cup and his current form is brilliant," Kaif said in an interview to news channel.

"In place of three leg-spinners, if you would have omitted one among then and played Ashwin instead, there would have been variation. The captain then has that option. He is bowling and batting really well. On that front, I think what is the role of three leg-spinners?"

While a veteran like Ravichandran Ashwin is missing, Pandya is back in the squad after leading Gujarat Titans to a triumph in the IPL 2022.

"It is really pleasing to have him back. Hardik at his best is a fantastic cricketer with both bat and ball. He's been very successful in white-ball cricket and has shown some really good form in this IPL as well," Rahul Dravid, India coach, said recently.

"His leadership was very impressive in the IPL and he performed well. You don't have to be designated as a leader to be part of the leadership group.

"At this point of time from our perspective it is a positive that he has started bowling again. It is really about ensuring that we can get the best out of him as a cricketer in terms of contributions."