South Africa is set to kick off a four-match T20 international series against India at Kingsmead on Friday. This comes just a few months after the two teams faced off in the T20 World Cup final, where India secured a narrow seven-run victory to claim the title.

Both teams will look quite different from their World Cup lineups. South Africa will be without three of their top bowlers from that tournament: fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, as well as left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. Additionally, star batsman and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock is also missing from the squad.

On the Indian side, most of the key players are currently preparing for a Test series in Australia. As a result, only four players from India’s World Cup-winning team are in the squad: captain Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Arshdeep Singh.

South African coach Rob Walter recognizes the challenges of managing a team during such a busy cricketing calendar, where different formats and leagues overlap. “We’re seeing more teams around the world having to play with two separate squads because of tight schedules,” said Walter. “We want to reach a point where we’re strong enough to compete in both formats.”

Despite the absence of key players, South Africa can still call upon experienced T20 stars like David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, and Keshav Maharaj. This is a big boost compared to their last T20 international match in September, where they were defeated by Ireland in Abu Dhabi.

For India, this series presents an opportunity for some lesser-known players to make a name for themselves. Uncapped players like Ramandeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, and Yash Dayal will be eager to impress, especially with the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction coming up on November 24-25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.