On Surya’s form and captaincy
See, as a captain, you need somebody who’s aggressive, who’s positive, who’s got a good temperament, who’s one among the boys. And I think Suryakumar Yadav is all this. And that’s the reason he’s been persisted with as captain. We all know in T20s, it’s not all about churning out runs every time you walk out to bat. It’s the impact that you make. We all know the kind of impact SKY can make on a given day, even against the best of attacks. He’s also extremely good on the field. So that being the case, he will not be too worried about what has happened in the recent past. He knows the responsibility, he’s matured and he’s really had to work hard over a long period of time to get where he is. So he’s a grounded guy. He also knows that with authority comes responsibility. I’m sure that he will make his presence felt in more ways than one.
On team combination in UAE
I would think you’ll have four specialist bowlers. Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah are no-brainers. Then you’ll have perhaps Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, with Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya being all-rounders, they obviously would fit in any category. That makes six, which leaves place for five batters, including a wicket-keeper. And there again, that’s again an all-rounder slotted there, be it Jitesh Sharma or Samson. It’s a straightforward equation as far as I’m concerned.
On Rinku’s role in the team
I think Rinku is primarily like SKY, picked as a T20 player. I, for one, would tend to think that if somebody is categorised as a specialist in the T20s, and he’s one who can turn games on their heads, then he has to be played in the XI. There’s no point in having a potential match-winner in the side all the time. And Rinku is also not getting younger. It’s about time he establishes himself and goes on to become one of the most important cogs in the wheel.
