Speaking on the eve of the series, Suryakumar opined that India’s batters should be able to adapt to the fast and bouncy wickets of South Africa. “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,” he asserted.
The Men in the Blue will be going into the South Africa series on the back of a 4-1 thumping of Australia at home albeit against a second-string side. However, the Indian captain expects his players to take the confidence of the win against the Aussies into the matches against South Africa.
“The players put their hands up against Australia and came up with fearless cricket, and we need to play the same against South Africa. I just told them to do exactly what they do in franchise cricket,” the 33-year-old asserted.
Suryakumar also brushed aside concerns of Team India playing only six T20Is in the run-up to the 2024 T20 World Cup in June. According to the right-handed batter, the Indian Premier League (IPL) should serve as a good preparation for the ICC event.
"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. 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," the Indian captain stated.
Apart from three T20Is, India will also play three ODIs in South Africa. This will be followed by two Tests. KL Rahul will lead the team in the one-day series, while Rohit Sharma will return to captain the Indian side in the Test matches.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
