"Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant will make an explosive pair at No. 5 and 6, can score 120 runs in last six overs" - Sunil Gavaskar

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League has been concluded successfully. The new franchise, the Gujarat Titans, emerged victorious in their maiden season. A lot of young, uncapped Indian players rose to the occasion and showed their talent to catch the eyes of selectors and former cricketers.

As a result, some of them have also got chance in the next assignment for the Indian team. The Men in Blue will host South Africa for a five-match T20I series starting on June 9. After a two-month long tournament, some of the senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami have been given the rest.

KL Rahul will captain the side, and Rishabh Pant will be his deputy for the series. So this will be a great opportunity for the players to prove themselves in the absence of seniors. Hardik Pandya is back after a sensilating performance in the IPL 2022 and after leading his team to victory.

On the other hand, Indian legendary batsman, Sunil Gavaskar, reckons that India's duo of Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant at No. 5 and 6 will make an explosive pair against South Africa in the series. He also said that both could even score 120 runs in the last six overs together.

Hardik was on fire with the bat this season, scoring 487 runs. On the other hand, Pant also had a decent season and scored 340 runs at an explosive strike rate of 151.79. During a discussion on Star Sports, Gavaskar said that Hardik and Pant at No. 5 or 6 would make a perfect duo for India.

He also said that this will be an explosive combination for the team between 14th and 20th over, and one can expect them to score 100 or 120 runs in that period. The former cricketer also added, "So, that's going to be an exciting aspect. That's something I'm really looking forward to -- Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya batting at five or six."

All the Indian players will assemble in the capital city on Sunday, June 5. Notably, the BCCI has lifted all the COVID-19 restrictions for this series, so there will not be any kind of restrictions. But the players and management will be tested regularly from both sides.