"Rahul for India and Quinton de Kock for South Africa will be the highest scorers" - Aakash Chopra makes his predictions for Ind-SA T20I series

Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul opened together for LSG in IPL 2022 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has made his predictions for the upcoming T20I series between Team India and South Africa.

The Indian team, led by KL Rahul, will face the Proteas in five T20Is, with the first game to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on June 9. While South Africa have fielded a full-strength squad for the series, the Men in Blue will be without some of their established players.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra predicted that KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock will outscore their respective teammates in the batting department. He observed:

"I am saying Rahul for India and Quinton de Kock for South Africa will be the highest scorers. My first prediction is for KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock to have a good series."

The cricketer-turned-analyst picked Kagiso Rabada as the likely most successful bowler in the series, saying:

"Secondly, I am saying Rabada to pick most wickets in the series. If we include both the countries, then also Rabada might have the most wickets, that's what I feel."

Rabada has picked up four wickets in as many T20Is he has played against Team India. His best figures of 3/39 came at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in the last T20I he played against the Men in Blue.

"Hardik Pandya to win at least one Player of the Match" - Aakash Chopra

Hardik Pandya has staged a comeback into the Indian team based on his performances in IPL 2022

Chopra reckons Hardik Pandya will win at least one Player of the Match award during the series. He reasoned:

"Hardik Pandya to win at least one Player of the Match. It is a five-match series, he bowled for Gujarat (Titans), so he will be bowling here as well. So there I feel he will get one Player of the Match award."

Rahul Dravid said "Hardik Pandya is a fantastic cricketer, both with bat and ball - it's so pleasing to have him back - great for the Indian team that he has started bowling, brings lots of depth into the team flexibility".

The reputed commentator concluded by predicting that Team India will just pip the Proteas in the five-match series. Chopra stated:

"I feel India will win this series 3-2. It is going to be a closely contested series but India will win in the end, that's what I feel."

While Team India will definitely want to win the series, they will also have a bigger goal in mind. The Indian selectors and team management will hope to be as close as possible to finalizing the squad for the T20 World Cup later this year by the end of the series against South Africa,

Also Read: "He can hit sixes anytime" - Irfan Pathan says Hardik Pandya is extremely valuable for Team India