3 Team India players making a strong case for a berth in the T20 World Cup squad

Dinesh Karthik continues to impress as the T20 World Cup edges closer (Image courtesy: Getty Images)

The recently concluded five-match T20I series between India and South Africa finished on level terms, with the last match in Bengaluru washed out on Sunday, June 19. The visitors started the series strongly, recording comprehensive wins in the first two T20Is.

However, Team India clawed their way back into the competition, coming out on top in the next two encounters to level the series at 2-2. Though the hosts couldn’t complete the comeback due to the rain, they still had quite a few positives to take from the series as they prepare for the T20 World Cup.

A few Indian players, who weren’t part of the 2021 T20 World Cup, have made a case for themselves in the recently concluded series. Here's a look at them:

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#1 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has been a revelation. His return to the T20I side came on the back of a swashbuckling IPL season, where he scored 330 runs for the Royal Challengers Bangalore at a strike rate of 183.33.

He carried that form into the South Africa series, finishing with 92 runs at a strike rate of 158.62. The 37-year-old's best outing came in the fourth match as he smashed 55 off 27 balls for his first T20I half-century. It was instrumental in guiding the hosts to a 82-run victory.

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#2 Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal wasn’t picked for the last T20 World Cup, but with his performances in the IPL and the T20I series, he has done everything to stake a claim. He won the IPL 2022 Purple Cap, picking up 27 wickets in 17 matches.

Chahal finished the South Africa series as the joint second-highest wicket-taker with six scalps. The leg-spinner’s best performance came in the third T20I, where he finished with figures of 3/20 in four overs, picking up the crucial wickets of Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen.

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#3 Harshal Patel

Many were surprised by Harshal Patel’s exclusion from Team India’s squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup. But the bowler didn’t let the non-selection affect him and has continued to produce the goods for India and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He was once again brilliant in the IPL, picking up 19 wickets and conceding runs at just 7.66 per over. Patel doubled that up by finishing as the top wicket-taker of the India-South Africa series. The 31-year-old took seven wickets in five matches and had an economy rate of just 7.23.