'He’s putting his hand up, bashing the door down as hard as he can': Dale Steyn backs SRH star for India call-up
IPL 2022: Steyn, currently a part of the Sunrisers coaching set-up, believes the Indian batter has a "serious" chance of getting a call-up to national team.
With a lethal bowling attack at his disposal, Kane Williamson has been able to guide Sunrisers Hyderabad to five wins in eight games so far in the current IPL season. The 2016 IPL winners lost their first two games before staging a remarkable turnaround with five straight wins to their name. While Williamson has blown hot and cold with the willow, Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram have been consistent, and Rahul Tripathi and Nicholas Pooran have also chipped in with solid performances. (IPL 2022 Full Coverage)
The Indian team has a wide talent pool to pick its players and it's no secret that there's competition for every slot in the playing eleven. Talking about Indians who have left a mark in the ongoing IPL edition, Tripathi is among the top performers with the bat. He's amassed 228 runs at an average of 45.60 and a strike rate of 174.04, making a strong case for selection in the Indian team.
Former South African pacer Dale Steyn, currently a part of the Sunrisers coaching staff, believes the Indian batter has a "serious" chance of getting a call-up to the national team.
“I certainly believe that Rahul has a serious chance of making it to India’s T20I team. The IPL is a platform that allows players to perform so well that the Indian national team selects players from that pool. It’s strange to see that he hasn’t got an opportunity in the Indian team so far," Steyn told Sportskeeda.
“Given that the position he bats at [no. 3] is occupied by Virat Kohli in the Indian team, it’s going to be difficult to get that spot. But the way he’s currently playing and the way he has played in the past, he has certainly shown maturity. He’s putting his hand up and bashing the door down as hard as he can," he added.
The race for the No. 3 batting spot has intensified after Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav have put up impressive shows at the position. Tripathi, who previously represented Kolkata Knight Riders, has also put his hand up for a place in the top order.
"SRH have given me stability at No. 3 because they trust my ability. I always prefer to bat in the top three, but that doesn’t mean I’m not flexible," Tripathi has said about his preferred batting position.
After not being retained by KKR, Tripathi was picked for ₹8.50 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the February auction. He's over 1600 runs in the T20 league including eight half-centuries in 70 games.
