Johannesburg [South Africa]: India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav thanked Jitesh Sharma, Vyshak Vijay Kumar and Yash Dayal for the support that they offered during their entire tour of South Africa.
With India sticking to their winning formula for the majority of the series apart from a little bit of tinkering, a couple of players missed out on the opportunity to feature in the playing XI.
Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh and the pace duo of Vyshak and Dayal were the players who bid their time on the sidelines while waiting for an opportunity to knock on their door.
However, the opportunity never came as India breezed past South Africa to seal a 3-1 series win. After India returned to the dressing room, Suryakumar gave a special mention to the trio for the support that they offered.
“Thank you, Jitesh, Vyshak and Yash, for all the support. Obviously, each member of the support staff. We got all the support from them,” Suryakumar said in a video posted by BCCI.
It was a collective effort from the entire team but bolstered by some stunning individual performances. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma stood out with two centuries each across the four T20Is.
Even though India soared to new heights, the second T20I offered a reality check when India let victory slip past their hands. A couple of dropped catches and getting lured into poor shot selection were other talking points that went against the visitors.
Suryakumar credited everyone for their stunning display but was quick to remind them to take a lot of learnings out of the four T20Is against South Africa.
“Well done, congratulations. Everyone knows how challenging it is to win a series overseas. Last time it was 1-1. But even though after 2-1, we decided on how to play this game. I feel everyone stepped up in this game, so credit goes to everyone. We won this series as a team. It is a special win. But at the same time, we take a lot of learnings,” he added.
India’s next T20I assignment will be in January next year against England. India will play hosts to the Three Lions for three T20Is, beginning on January 22 at the iconic Eden Gardens.