India-SA first T20 International on Friday

Limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who retired from Test cricket in December 2014, will return to international action after last playing in Bangladesh in June, a three-match One-Day International series that they lost 2-1.

Apart from three T20s in this series, India are slated to play four more against Sri Lanka followed by the Asia Cup before the ICC World Twenty20 cup.

South Africa lost a T20 warm-up game against India A earlier this week but the tourists are not reading too much into the defeat. India A, without any international names in the XI, chased down a competitive 190 with two deliveries to spare and eight wickets in hand.

The choice of Himachal Pradesh for the first T20 International has surprised the pace-strong visitors as conditions at the HPCA Stadium heavily favour seam bowling. However, the T20 series is expected to be a battle of the willow with both teams possessing a formidable batting line-up.

The South African side is captained by Du Plessis, who is no sranger to Indian conditions, courtesy his IPL stints at the Chennai Super Kings. More importantly, he is aware of the strategies of India’s captain cool, also skipper to the IPL side.

Squads:

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Albie Morkel, Khaya Zondo.

India: MS Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra, S Aravind.