“You cannot…” - Suryakumar Yadav opens up on Rinku Singh’s omission from T20I squad

Team India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav has opened up on Rinku Singh’s absence from the T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against South Africa, scheduled to start on Tuesday, December 9, in Cuttack.

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Speaking in the pre-series press conference, Surya has asserted that someone like Shivam Dube gives a perfect balance to the squad with the bat and the ball. Furthermore, he also revealed that a batter from 3 to 7 can bat at any position, providing flexibility in the XI.

Speaking about the T20I numbers, Rinku Singh has played 35 games, racking up 550 runs at an average of 42.30. On the other hand, Dube has played 46 T20Is, accumulating 607 runs and picking up 21 wickets.

"You cannot compare an all-rounder with someone who is a finisher. Dube is an all-rounder. All the batters from 3 to 7 are capable of batting at any position. For example, you might see Tilak Verma batting at 6. As you saw in Australia, Dube went in to bat at number 3. It depends on the entry point of the batter. We have to be really flexible doing that. More likely, this is what the team and the squad look like. It looks good. It looks strong. So, I am very happy with it," Suryakumar Yadav said in the pre-series press conference.

Furthermore, the Indian T20I captain also disclosed that India’s preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign had begun after the successful campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados.

"Preparation for the T20 World Cup had already begun after the 2024 T20 World Cup ended. You can't just start preparing for a big tournament a month or two before it starts. It started a long way back. Since then, we have been trying new things, which have been working in our favour till now," he added.

The five-match T20I series against South Africa begins in Cuttack on Tuesday, December 9, while the series concludes in Ahmedabad on Friday, December 19.

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