DURBAN: The toss for the first T20I clash between India and South Africa on Sunday has been delayed due to rain.
Overcast conditions were already foreshadowing the arrival of rain at the time of the clash. Covers were placed over the pitch before the intervention from the rain gods.
Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the team after registering a 4-1 triumph against Australia in the five-match T20I series.
On the eve of the game, he emphasised his desire for the team to maintain the “fearless” approach that gave them success in the home series, echoing what he said during the Australia series.
“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,” he said.
Suryakumar, who has liked his captaincy thus far, emphasised that the series was crucial for India because they only had six more T20Is before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next year. However, the captain dismissed fears that the absence of matches would hamper India’s preparations for the global 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,” Suryakumar said.
“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,” he added.
India’s squad for three T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (Wk), Jitesh Sharma (Wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Deepak Chahar.
South Africa squad: Lungi Ngidi’s withdrawal with a sprained ankle on Friday further erodes the experience in a fast bowling department that is already without the rested Kagiso Rabada and the injured Anrich Nortje. The batting lineup is without Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen. (ANI)