There are as many as three Indian cricket teams engaged in various competitions at the same time – the main side, having just finished the Test series against New Zealand, is in preparation mode for their upcoming tour Down Under, an India A side is already playing in Australia while a T20 side is gearing up for action in South Africa, starting Friday.
In such a scenario, you can expect any Board to struggle to field a competitive T20 side. But thanks to the IPL, such are India’s cricket riches in T20 cricket that the Suryakumar Yadav-led side is packed with enough exciting talent to make it a series to look forward to.
Full of explosive batters like Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, Tristan Stubbs and David Miller, South Africa is one of the best limited overs sides. But having Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel in their line-up, this young India side can match any team for firepower.
To add spice to the series, the timing could not have been better as it’s the first time India and South Africa take on each other after playing a nail-biting final in the T20 World Cup in Barbados in June.
“I feel it’s (South Africa) the same team line-up, only Quinton de Kock is missing (from the World Cup line-up). It is always a challenge playing against South Africa be in the T20 World Cup or bilateral series. South Africa is always a very strong team,” India captain Surya said at the press conference on the eve of the first T20 to be played at Kingsmead, Durban.
Players from both sides will have an added incentive to be at their best during the four-match contest as it comes right ahead of the IPL mega auction. For those who have not been retained, it will be a perfect platform to impress the franchises. Any performances in these four games will easily catch the eye. For the South African players, the best example is in their dressing room with Heinrich Klaasen being the highest paid player to have been retained this season for ₹ ₹23 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Thanks to the performance of players like Klaasen and Markram, the stock of the South African players has also gone up in the IPL, and their availability is usually not an issue compared to other top outfits like Australia and England.
Focus on Surya
India remains the biggest draw in world cricket and it is understood this series has also been scheduled as a favour from the BCCI to help Cricket South Africa out of a tricky financial corner. Even with Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill missing, India have enough star power to attract the eye balls. The biggest of them is the India captain, Surya, himself.
Since his surprise elevation in the T20 set-up, his stocks have gone up further. He is proving to be an astute leader. Immediately after the World Cup, the way he handled tricky situations in the three T20Is in Sri Lanka was quite impressive, like in the third and final game. Displaying a knack of making instinctive decisions, he himself bowled the final over in the third T20 and picked up two wickets for just five runs to help tie the game to come back and win the game in the Super Over.
He is collecting a good record with 11 wins in the 13 games that he has captained India in. Surya was also captain of the T20 side last time India played in South Africa in December, 2023, the extra responsibility bringing the best out of him as a batter as he carted a 36-ball 56 and a 56-ball 100 in the two games (1-1). “Last time we played here we had a good series. Both the sides enjoy having the competition,” Surya said.
Most of all he is thriving in the role of managing and bringing the best out of the youngsters. “To manage them (youngsters) is not difficult at all. They have made my job very easy. You must have watched the last two-three series, the brand of cricket which we have decided to play they are already playing the way this format should be played. It is good to watch them.
“The approach will be the same, the brand of cricket we played in the T20 World Cup and also in the last two-three bilateral series.”
Surya said he looks up to Rohit Sharma’s leadership style for inspiration. “As a leader I learn a lot from Rohit, playing with him in franchise cricket and the Indian team. I know how he treats the players, what he wants from them, I have also taken that route because he is very successful.”
Asked about the similarities in his batting and captaincy style, “My batting style is totally different, I can’t be that aggressive on the field. At the same time giving them freedom is very important and I try to give it to them. Off the field I spend a lot of time with them to understand them, (that) who can deliver for the team under pressure. The freedom and clarity is very important.”
