India vs South Africa 2019: 3 Indian players who will be under pressure to perform

After playing an exciting T20 series, India and South Africa will now focus on the longest format of the game. The three-match Test series will begin from 2 October, and both the teams would look to showcase their skills to the fullest as the event will be part of the World Test Championship.

India is leading the points table with 120 points on the board whereas South Africa will play their first series of the championship.

Though India have secured the pole position, there are a few players who have to prove their worth as it could be a career-deciding series for them. Some of them even failed to impress during the Caribbean tour, which put their standing in further jeopardy.

Here, we look at three Indian stars who will be under pressure to perform in the upcoming series against South Africa:

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#3 Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav will replace Jasprit Bumrah.

India received a major setback when Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the Test series after suffering a minor stress fracture in his lower back. With Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma being the other two pace bowlers in the side, Umesh Yadav needs to perform well if he wants to become a permanent member of India’s Test team.

The 31-year-old fast bowler played his last Test match against Australia on 14 December 2018. He has not been in the squad since that series following his poor form in the format.

Umesh did not have a great outing during the recently concluded practice match against South Africa either as he just grabbed 1 wicket in 11 overs.

Umesh is facing trouble finding the right line and length which could trouble the batsmen. It will be interesting to see how he plays in this series; if he does not produce an extraordinary performance, he could be out of the Test squad for the foreseeable future.

Also see - India South Africa schedule

#2 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant

India have tried a plethora of wicket-keeper batsmen since the retirement of MS Dhoni from Test cricket, but the search has not concluded yet. The management put their faith in Rishabh Pant because of Wriddhiman Saha’s injury, and for a while that seemed to have paid off. However, Pant's fortunes have taken a downturn of late.

The 21-year-old from Delhi has been facing a lot of backlash after failing to deliver consistently at the international level. His poor shot selection has frequently put his team into trouble, and the selection committee cannot afford to keep giving him chances - especially when the likes of Saha, KS Bharat and Sanju Samson are waiting in the queue.

Pant had scores of 27, 24 and 7 versus West Indies. Though he has been good when it comes to keeping behind the wickets, his poor form with the bat has been piling pressure on him.

It will be interesting to see how the young stars perform in the South Africa series, as it could make or break his career.

#1 Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal will likely open the innings with Rohit Sharma in this Test series

Mayank Agarwal has been a part of India’s Test squad ever since Prithvi Shaw’s exit from the team. Though he was impressive on his Test debut against Australia, he has managed only 275 runs in the 4 Tests he has played so far.

Agarwal was the first-choice opener for India along with KL Rahul during the Test series against West Indies, with Rohit Sharma being on the bench. However, the committee has dropped Rahul for the South Africa series due to his poor form.

The cricket world will now see the new pair of Agarwal and Rohit open the batting against the Proteas. With Rahul losing his place because of his inconsistency, Agarwal too will be under pressure to perform well in this series.

The 28-year-old from Karnataka has failed to cement his place in the side. He scored 80 runs in four innings during the Caribbean tour. His highest score was 55, which came in the first innings of the second Test.

Considering the cut-throat competition in the Indian side and the inclusion of Shubman Gill, Agarwal needs to push himself in the upcoming South Africa series if he wants to keep his place in the team.