India A clash against South Africa on Tuesday will act as a curtain raiser for the mega series between India and South Africa, which starts on 2 October. India host South Africa for 3 T20s, 5 ODIs and 4 Test matches.
The South African team reached Delhi on Sunday and they will be playing their only warm up game at Palam before the T20 series. The Proteas have announced a strong team for the upcoming series, but still, some of the team members have not reached India.
Amla, who will miss the practice game on Tuesday, will join the team in Delhi after which he will fly along with his team members to Dharamsala, where they are scheduled to face India in the first T20.
"Hashim (Amla)will not be available for the practice game tomorrow. He will be joining the squad after the T20 game. He will join us here in Delhi and fly with the team to Dharamsala," PTI quoted South Africa's media manager Lerato Malekutu as saying.
Apart from Amla, Albie Morkel is yet to join the team as the all rounder, who replaced David Wiese in the 11th hour, has not received his visa for India. Morkel replaced Wiese, who broke his hand in the African T20 Cup.
"Albie is yet to get visa for India as he was announced as last minute replacement for David Wiese," said Malekutu.
Despite the absence of these players, the visitors have some big names in their ranks, which include AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis, who all trained hard at the Air force ground on Monday to prepare for their clash against India A.
These players are going to be crucial on Tuesday as they will be eager to start the series with a tour game on a winning note.
South Africa is a strong unit, but yet they are going to face stiff opposition with some well known players representing India A, such as Mayank Agarwal, Manan Vohra, Manish Pandey and Mandeep Singh.
All the mentioned players have been knocking on the selectors' doors and are aware that an impressive performance against South Africa will help them get noticed by the selectors.
South Africa can use this match as a perfect preparation for the two-month long series and get familiar with Indian conditions.
Squad
India A - Mayank Agarwal, Manan Vohra, Manish Pandey, Mandeep Singh (c), Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Rishi Dhawan, Anureet Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi and Kuldeep Yadav.
South Africa - Faf du Plessis (c) Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada and Khaya Zondo.
India A vs South Africa T20 schedule
Date - 29 September
Time - 11 am IST
Venue - Palam in New Delhi
Where to follow live
The warm up game between India A vs South Africa will not be broadcast on any TV channel in India. The live streaming option is also not available.
Get the Full schedule of the India vs South Africa 2015 series HERE
However, cricket fans in India can follow the live scores and updates here.
