IND vs SA 2022: 3 India players probably with last chance to get into T20 World Cup squad

KL Rahul will be captaining Team India for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, beginning on June 9. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant will be his deputy as a number of main players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested.

The IPL 2022 season saw a number of fringe Indian players perform exceedingly well. Some of them have been rewarded with a chance to feature in the upcoming T20I series.

However, there are also some players whose selection has been questioned by many after an inconsistent IPL 2022 season. Many felt that players like Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi and Mohsin Khan should have been a part of the Indian squad instead of these players.

However, all is not lost as the selected bunch of players can make a strong case for themselves for India's T20 World Cup squad. Let's take a look at three such players from the current squad who might have the last chance to make it to the showpiece event:

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#3 Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer took the second half of the IPL 2021 season in the UAE by storm. He scored 370 runs in 10 games to take the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all the way to the final.

He was also impressive with the ball and was thus retained by KKR ahead of the likes of Shubman Gill. But while Gill became an IPL champion with the Gujarat Titans, Venkatesh had a torrid IPL 2022 season.

In 12 games, he scored just 182 runs at an average of 16.55 and picked up no wickets, conceding 11.5 runs per over. His numbers for India in T20Is are decent, having scored 133 runs in nine games with five wickets to his name.

But with Hardik Pandya's resurgence as an all-rounder, the South Africa series might be the last hope for Venkatesh to make it to the T20 World Cup squad.

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#2 Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan has done reasonably well for India whenever he has got a chance, scoring 289 runs in 10 games. The IPL 2022 season was a golden opportunity for the 23-year-old to play at least 14 games at the top of the order and make a strong claim for the opener's spot in the T20 World Cup.

Although he scored 418 runs, they came at a strike rate of just 120.11. He also looked woefully uncomfortable against swing bowling, something that is not ideal for an opener.

With the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad also in the mix and Virat Kohli having expressed his desire to open in T20Is in the past, Kishan might need to pile on the runs against the Proteas to have a chance to make it to the T20 World Cup squad.

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#1 Shreyas Iyer

The name on this list that could shock quite a few people is probably that of Shreyas Iyer. The 27-year-old was the Man of the Series against Sri Lanka, where he scored half-centuries in each of the three games. He looked in complete control of his shots and was almost a certainty in India's T20 World Cup squad.

However, the KKR captain didn't quite have a convincing season for his new team. He scored 401 runs, but looked incredibly uncomfortable against short-pitched bowling.

With bounce being a huge factor in Australia, many feel Shreyas won't be effective in the T20 World Cup Down Under. However, he will face the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje and will be tested with short-pitched bowling.

If Shreyas can find a way to dominate these pacers, he will instill enough belief in the selectors that he can at least be one of the backup batters for India in the showpiece event.