All the stand-by players for the T20 World Cup, playing in the South Africa ODI series will aim to use the three games to make a case for themselves for the main squad, stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan said on Wednesday.
With Jasprit Bumrah already ruled out, the series could be a shot-out between Deepak Chahar, who is in the stand-by list and Mohammed Siraj, who could make that list in the event that Mohammed Shami fails to become match-fit before October 15.
Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Chahar are the standbys named for the Indian team for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia and will be travelling Down Under as reserves. "Of course, it is very important because the more matches they (standby players) are going to play, they will be in better groove and better mindset.
If the boys perform well, then obviously the confidence will help them. Who knows they might get a chance so they can look at this series as preparation," Dhawan said here on the eve of the first game.