South Africa captain reflects on absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in India's T20 team

South African captain Aiden Markram has stated that the non-inclusion of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Indian T20 squad offers his side a slight breather. However, he stressed that India continue to pose a strong challenge regardless of their absence.

Markram noted that South Africa have arrived with “fresh strategies” tailored for the T20 format, which he feels demands a completely different approach from their recent Test series triumph.

“It definitely helps us that Virat and Rohit aren’t part of the T20 squad, but India are still a very powerful unit. We haven’t chalked out any strict plans—it’s T20 cricket, full of excitement. Our aim is for players to express themselves freely, enjoy their game, and deliver at their best,” he said.

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South Africa, despite finishing runners-up at the previous T20 World Cup, have found bilateral T20I results tough to come by, suffering defeats to India, Australia, Pakistan, and the West Indies. Markram maintained that their strategy remains unchanged as they begin another series from scratch. 

The Proteas remain unbeaten in Cuttack, having won both T20Is previously played here. Markram believes this winning history could provide a psychological advantage.

A major boost for South Africa is the return of pace spearhead Anrich Nortje, set to play his first match since the T20 World Cup final.

Markram expects batting-friendly surfaces and big totals in the T20 series but insists flexibility will be key.