Proteas wary of 'confident' India, look to fill gaps for final T20 World Cup prep

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma hopes his side will use the Indian series as valuable game time ahead of next month's T20 World Cup.

In June, South Africa toured India for five T20s with the series ending in a thrilling 2-2 draw after the final T20I was washed out.

Bavuma returns to action for the first time since recovering from an elbow injury suffered in the fourth match of that series.

READ | Bavuma has put SA20 snub behind him: 'The focus for me is on the World Cup'

This time around, the Proteas will play three T20Is and three ODIs against India from 28 September to 11 October, with the T20 series used as preparation for next month's T20 World Cup in Australia.

"We obviously expect it to be a good one, a competitive one as it always is," Bavuma told reporters on Tuesday.

"The last time we were here, we were challenged in all departments of our game and I think we answered it quite well. The small nature of the field, we'll be trying to match them, but we expect a good, strong, competitive series."

This is the Proteas' final preparation for the T20 World Cup set for 16 October - 13 November. Bavuma will again lead the Proteas after his charges missed out on the knockout stages at last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE.

"This is our last series before the World Cup, we'll be looking at this series to fill the gaps we feel are there within our team," said Bavuma.

"A lot of guys have been playing a lot of cricket so if we can manage those guys' intensities... and then we have some guys who need some cricket under their belt.

"This is our last preparation, different conditions than in India and Australia, but still match time."

Last week, India defeated Australia 2-1 in a three-match T20I series and will be boosted during this series by