"It's human tendency, we can't lie, as humans you do tend to think of it" - Suryakumar on IPL auction potentially playing on their minds against SA
Team India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not shy away from the fact that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) mega-auction could be on the players' minds during the build-up to the series against South Africa. The IPL franchises submitted their retention list on October 31, while the auction is scheduled to take place in Jeddah on November 24 and 25.
The four-match T20I series between India and South Africa comes at a crucial time for prospects who wish to impress, as it marks the last major bilateral affair before the auction. The auction also holds huge importance for the South Africa camp, as a total of 91 players have registered themselves from the Rainbow Nation, the most by any overseas country.
As far as the Indian squad is concerned, the majority of them, including skipper Suryakumar Yadav, have been retained. But as recent form plays a role in the price tag at the IPL auction, the likes of Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Vijaykumar Vyshak would want to put their best foot forward.
"At the end of the day we are humans, we do talk about it. We have a series to play, and there's a lot at stake," Surakumar Yadav said at the toss after being put into bat first in the first T20I.
"Putting up runs on the board and taking up the challenge is always good from a team's point of view. The guys in the dressing room make my job a lot easier, the way they bat for their state and franchise has been amazing, the fearless approach makes it easier for me, don't need to tell them much," Suryakumar Yadav further added.
Team India's T20I squad heads into the series on the back of a dominant 3-0 whitewash against Bangladesh at home.
"It hasn't been mentioned in our team" - South Africa captain Aiden Markram on IPL auction
South Africa skipper Aiden Markram had to tackle the major IPL auction query during the pre-series press conference as well as during the toss. On both occasions, he maintained that it was not something being obsessed over among the squad.
"It hasn't been mentioned in our team, we're quite competitive a team, and a lot of the chats is about how to get results," Markram responded on Pommie Mbangwa's query during the toss in Durban.
India: Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakravarthy.
South Africa: Ryan Rickelton (WK), Aiden Markram (C), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Partrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter.