1st T20: India vs South Africa – Players to watch out for

New Delhi: India might not have played T20 cricket for quite some time, their last match being the T20 final against Sri Lanka last year, but the Men in Blue will be looking to make a winning start against Faf du Plessis & Co in the first match.

As MS Dhoni & Co take on South Africa in the first T20 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, here is a list of the players to watch out for:

MS Dhoni: Many say he is not the finisher he once used to be. Others wanted him to step down as ODI skipper giving the captaincy to Virat Kohli. But as the Indian skipper returns to international cricket after a three-month gap, he would once again want his bat to do all the talking.

Faf du Plessis: Besides being the skipper, Faf remains to be a vital cog of the South African team in all formats of the game. The only criticism he has faced, is his slow start in the shortest format of the game where he consumes too many deliveries. Thus the Proteas skipper would be keen to score some brisk runs to silence his critics.

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Harbhajan Singh: He was one of the lucky Indian cricketers to have been recalled into the Indian squad. Bhajji, who has been a match-winner for India on numerous occasions in the past will be bowling with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Axar Patel. A bad series could possibly see the end of Harbhajan's career, as he isn't a part of Team India's ODI squad.

Imran Tahir: One of the highlights of the Indian Premier League last year was the celebration of Imran Tahir. Ahead of the series, several Indian stalwarts, including Sachin Tendulkar, warned the Indian batsmen about the damage he can cause. Tahir, who heavily relies on his googly, will have to show more variation to help his side put a good show in the series.