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Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has advised T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav not to give up his own batting spot to accommodate others. His remarks come ahead of the five-match T20I series against South Africa, scheduled to begin on December 9 in Cuttack.
The right-handed batter has not had a great 2025 so far, scoring just 184 runs in 15 innings at a low average of 15.33, while continually switching between the No. 3 and No. 4 positions as India experimented with the batting order.
On Friday, November 28, speaking in a joint YouTube video with former Proteas captain AB de Villiers, Ashwin said he would hate to see Suryakumar give up his spot leading into the 2026 T20 World Cup. He said:
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“I also think Surya is a very open, open-minded character who can do a lot of good work for the team. Quite selfless, was willing to give up, give up his own spot to be able to accommodate others in the batting order, which is something I would hate to see going forward leading up into the World Cup.”
“That Indian team is an extremely strong and intimidating Indian side which, let alone being played with a lot of freedom, could inflict a lot of damage in that tournament. So the last thing I want to see is shuffling of batting orders and people not knowing where exactly they will enter into a particular game. It is something I want to see avoided over the next few months,” he added.
The 2026 T20 World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
“Don't think we will get whitewashed” - AB de Villiers predicts results of IND-SA white-ball series
In the same conversation, former South Africa captain AB de Villiers predicted the outcome of the three-game ODI series between India and the Proteas, starting November 30, followed by the five-match T20I series. The 41-year-old said Team India looks stronger in the shortest format, while South Africa has a good chance of winning the ODI series. He said:
“I think South Africa will be competitive in both the series. I don't think we will get whitewashed in both. I think the strongest suit of Indian cricket right now is white-ball cricket. I think we have more of an opportunity in ODIs. T20s, anything can happen, but Team India looks stronger, there is no doubt about it. And obviously we have the memory of that World Cup in the West Indies where India won that final against us. Maybe that will be enough to sort of urge South Africa on to try and cross the line, but unlikely in T20s. I think in the ODI, South Africa has got a really good chance of winning.”
South Africa will enter the series on a high, having whitewashed India in the two-game Test series.
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