Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan picked his India playing XI for the first T20I against South Africa, opting for Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Axar Patel. The remaining players include Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah. Notably, the 41-year-old left out Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube.