- Reeza Hendricks is in red-hot form and continues to move for a Proteas starting berth.
- His 74 on Sunday was a timely reminder of what he brings to the top order.
- Hendricks has had to be content with a place on the sidelines so far on the Indian tour.
Reeza Hendricks sat out for the first four fixtures on South Africa's Indian tour, but he took his chance with both hands in Ranchi on Sunday with a sublime 74 (76) as his side slumped to a 7-wicket loss.
It was the fifth time in Hendricks' last six Proteas innings - across ODI and T20 formats - that he has carded a half-century.
The 33-year-old, who narrowly missed out on 2019 50-over World Cup selection, is in red-hot form and has been for some time.
I would like to have a conversation with our selection panel as to why @reezahendricks is not playing after his last series in eng. #SAvsIND World cup loading.... Play your best team and give them game time. Both our openers are out of form.
— Vernon Philander (@VDP_24) October 2, 2022
He is included in the 15-man group for this month's T20 World Cup in Australia, but there are no guarantees that he will be included in the starting XI in what is becoming an increasingly problematic selection poser for the Proteas brains trust.
Temba Bavuma is the South African captain, and his return to the T20 top order after injury for the recently-completed India series saw Hendricks left out completely. By the end of the series, there were more question marks than ever hovering over Bavuma with scores of 0, 0 and 3 painting the picture of a man grossly out of form.
STAT ATTACK | Numbers paint grim picture for Temba Bavuma
Hendricks, meanwhile, has carded scores of 42, 74, 70, 53 and 57 in his last five T20 innings.
When the ODI series started last week, Bavuma then shifted down to No 3 in the order in Lucknow, accommodating the return of Janneman Malan up top.
Still no Hendricks.
Reeza Hendricks has scored five half-centuries in his last six international innings. Very, very difficult to ignore him for the T20 World Cup. #cricket
— Firdose Moonda (@FirdoseM) October 9, 2022
South Africa won the game, but Bavuma struggled again and could only card 8.
At the toss for the 2nd ODI, Cricket South Africa confirmed that Bavuma and spinner Tabraiz Shamsi had both missed out with a "mild infection". Keshav Maharaj was named stand-in captain, and Hendricks was given his shot.
It was bitterly disappointing that he could not convert to a century, but during his 126 minutes at the crease, Hendricks provided a sparkling reminder of exactly why so many are calling for his inclusion at the T20 World Cup.
He seemed in complete control for the bulk of his innings and, by the time he hit out to deep square leg, had displayed an array of shot-making all around the ground.
Hendricks is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, but if he is to be included in the World Cup top order, he would have to disrupt that current status quo of Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller and young Tristan Stubbs.
In terms of balance of that attack, there seems to be one logical cricket decision that cannot come because of the commitments that have been made to leadership.
It is the most difficult situation for a player who continues to knock down every door that is put in his way. That, it seems, is all Hendricks can do.
The third and final ODI takes place on Tuesday in Delhi and gets underway at 10:00 (SA time).