Opinion: These two players deserved to be part of India's T20 squad for South Africa series
The Indian team had a great outing at the Caribbean, coming out undefeated for the first time in a multi-format (Tests, ODIs and T20Is) series against West Indies. After facing a heart-break in the World Cup knockouts, whitewashing (7 wins, 1 NR) the Windies in their backyard has come as a soothing effect for the loss in England.
With the thumping win in the 2nd Test at Sabina Park, Virat Kohli and his men are back to home to host South Africa for three T20Is and three Tests. The 15-man squad for the T20Is was selected by the team management on August 29, 2019.
Keeping in mind about the T20 World Cup (2020), selectors have put faith in youngsters by picking up some flamboyant performers from the recently-concluded edition of Indian Premier League. The idea behind such approach is to manage workload of core players and at the same time give that experience of pressure at international level for the upcoming lads.
Though the team looks jam-packed in all the departments, these two players deserved a chance to be part of the Indian squad, considering their consistent performances in IPL:
Suryakumar Yadav- The Innovative Mumbaikar
The talented youngster has become one of the seasoned campaigners of IPL with his exploits at the top order for Mumbai Indians.
SK Yadav came into limelight when he became the highest run-getter for MI in 2018 racking up 512 runs. Though his team had an awful campaign, he cemented his place at the top by his remarkable consistency.
Even in the last edition, Yadav had a relishing summer, finishing with a tally of 424 runs with 2 fifties and an average of 32+ in MI's successful campaign. With his innovative batting, he could have been a fitting answer for the middle order uncertainty in the Indian team.
Shreyas Gopal- A smiling assassin
Born and raised from Bengaluru, Shreyas Gopal has a bowling action which resembles that of Anil Kumble's.
He was blessed to learn from the Indian legend during his tenure with the Mumbai Indians.Though Shreyas didn't have notable performances with Mumbai Indians, his transfer to Rajasthan Royals proved to be a life-changer.
In 2019, he had his best campaign in IPL as he picked up 20 wickets at an astonishing average of 17.35, scalping some big names like Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers more than once.
Apart from his bowling, Shreyas Gopal is a technically sound batsman who could be handy in the lower order for India.
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