Only thing well work on is what type of cricket we want to play: Suryakumar

Suryakumar Yadav made clear that there will not be a lot of tinkering in terms of team combination heading into the home T20 World Cup next year. The focus, he said, will only be on fine-tuning things.

“The preparation for the 2026 World Cup started after the 2024 World Cup ended. When we give exams in school, it is not like everyone studies in the last four days. We study for a year or two. Our preparation is the same,” said the India captain.

“We don’t want to change a lot now. The only thing we’ll work on is what type of cricket we want to play. We have two months left for the World Cup, before which we are going to play 10 T20s against two good teams (South Africa and New Zealand).”

When asked about Sanju Samson’s position in the batting order and his battle with Jitesh Sharma for a place in the XI, he said that all players, besides the openers, need to be flexible.

“We gave Sanju opportunities and he was ready to bat at any position. Both (Sanju and Jitesh) are in the scheme of things. It’s always good to have players who can both open or bat lower. It’s an asset to our team and a good headache to have.”

Suryakumar also welcomed Hardik Pandya’s return to full fitness. “As you saw in the Asia Cup, when he was bowling the new ball, he opened a lot of options and combinations for us. That is what he brings to the table. His experience will count a lot and his presence will give us a good balance.”

With toss taking centre stage in the ODI series, Suryakumar joked that he might take a leaf out of K.L. Rahul’s playbook and use his left hand as well.