NEWS
Follow UsIndia are set to kick off their 2023/24 tour of South Africa with a three-match T20I series on Sunday (December 10) in Durban. For India, it is the first of the remaining six T20Is before the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.
While that seems to be a low number of games, South Africa don’t even have that kind of a bandwidth. They have six T20Is at their hand but this is the only series before they have to announce their squad, given their next T20I assignment will be a build-up to the World Cup, where they will play West Indies in the Caribbean, the venue for the showpiece event alongside the USA.
Hence, both teams will rely heavily on their franchise competitions to sift from the available pool of players, optimize their combination and pick the squad. South Africa have the SA20 which will be played from January 10 to February 10. Meanwhile, IPL is played in the March-May window.
"I feel there are limited T20s going forward, before the T20 World Cup, but then we play 14 league games in the IPL as well," Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I skipper on the tour, said on the eve of the series opener.
"And players who have been playing in these T20 internationals, they've played a lot of games, and they have a lot of experience under their belt. So, we don't think there will be an issue or any problem in selecting the squad because everyone knows their roles really well and responsibilities really well - [like] how to play in different situations."
Clarifying further on the role clarity, Suryakumar took the example of Jitesh Sharma and Rinku Singh, who are fighting for the finisher’s role, potentially the vacant number five or number six spot in the World Cup, citing in mind the probable return of Hardik Pandya.
“The number Rinku and Jitesh have been batting at in the IPL and for their state teams, is the same number they are being given an opportunity here," he said, mentioning the symphony between player roles in IPL and the national team.
“They are being told to do the same thing they do for their states and their franchises. That's what they have done too; whenever we were in trouble in the T20 series, they showed a lot of character, which was the demand of the team.”
Aiden Markram, South Africa’s captain also spoke about the importance of the SA20 and South Africa’s domestic T20 tournament to select the World Cup squad.
"It's a strange one," Markram said. "Not ideal that we have only six games but we're fortunate that there's still a lot of T20 cricket, in terms of SA20 and the domestic T20 competition just after that. Hopefully, everyone can be fit and ready to go for us when it comes to selecting the World Cup squad. But guys will be playing T20 cricket and ultimately we will be able to get a good gauge of what our best squad is that we can send out for the World Cup."
India recently featured in a five-match T20i series against Australia, right after their ODI World Cup heartbreak. The Men in Blue won the series 4-1 but strangely, used only five bowlers in each of the five matches. They had the option to try Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal but missed out on the opportunity.
However, Suryakumar, who led the team in the series, is not worried about it.
"We do have a sixth-bowling option," he said. "There are lots of people to bowl. When the time is right, you will see. Not just six, there could be seven or eight too."
One of the most intriguing questions lies in India’s opening combination for the series with Shubman Gill returning to the squad. While the management has decided on their openers, Suryakumar opted to hold his cards close to his chest.
"We have the combination in mind. We know who are going to open tomorrow, and perhaps, will take a final call after the practice session today,” he said.
None of the Indian players in their current squad have played T20 cricket in South Africa. But, as stated, it is not a cause of worry for the Men in Blue.
"I think the key to success on such wickets will be to be yourself. The boys have prepared well. We are coming from a good T20I series win and have played on all fast tracks and all batters have played on such wickets. They will enjoy playing here in South Africa."
