"If Hardik Pandya gets injured, we don't get a replacement" - Parthiv Patel on Ramandeep Singh's inclusion for IND vs SA 2024 T20I series
Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel reckons Ramandeep Singh has been included in India's squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa in search of backups for Hardik Pandya. He also noted that the Men in Blue are undergoing a transition in the shortest format, with Suryakumar Yadav taking over the captaincy from the retired Rohit Sharma after the 2024 T20 World Cup.
India will face South Africa in four T20Is, with the first game to be played in Durban on Friday, November 8. Ramandeep and Hardik are part of India's 15-member squad selected for the tour.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Patel was asked about his expectations from India's tour of South Africa.
"India have started moving towards a transition. As soon as the T20 World Cup ended, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired. Ravindra Jadeja also retired. Suryakumar Yadav has been given the captaincy. It's permanent captaincy, it's not to fill in the gaps, as Rohit Sharma used to come back and captain earlier," he responded.
"You will keep seeing the new faces. Nitish Kumar Reddy is not there since he has gone on the Australian tour. You spoke about Ramandeep Singh. India are looking towards those kind of utility players, who are medium-pacer all-rounders because we have seen many times that if Hardik Pandya gets injured, we don't get a replacement," the former India wicketkeeper-batter added.
Patel noted that the tour will be a learning experience for the youngsters even if the visitors don't win the series.
"So India want to ensure that the team combination doesn't change much. The results might not go in your favor but one thing is there - when young players go to South Africa, they will return after learning a lot. You will need positive approach and intent there because you will be playing T20 cricket. The white-ball approach will be completely different," he observed.
Ramandeep Singh did well for India A in the recently concluded Emerging Teams Asia Cup, scoring one half-century, striking at an incredible 191.83. The batting all-rounder has also been retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as an uncapped player ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
"Ramandeep definitely" - Saba Karim on whether he sees Ramandeep Singh, Yash Dayal and Vijaykumar Vyshak making their debuts
![Ramandeep Singh smashed 125 runs at a strike rate of 201.61 in nine innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/64c42-17307069578275-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Saba Karim was asked whether he sees Ramandeep Singh, Yash Dayal and Vijaykumar Vyshak making their India debuts on the South African tour.
"Ramandeep definitely. Yash Dayal also because he has performed well in the recent T20 matches, especially in the UP T20 league. You have only one left-arm seam bowler in the T20 format currently in Arshdeep Singh. You will gain going forward if you introduce another left-arm seam bowler," he replied.
The former India selector opined that all three newcomers could get a look-in against the Proteas.
"Vijaykumar Vyshak has bowled splendidly and that is why he is getting an opportunity. So all three of them have opportunities and we have seen in T20s that wherever matches have been played, new players have been given opportunities. Recently Nitish Reddy was introduced against Bangladesh. This is the right opportunity to play all three new players," Saba reasoned.
Dayal and Vyshak are among four specialist seamers in India's squad, with Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan being the other two. The visitors' bowling lineup also has three frontline spinners - Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel.