The atmosphere in the Indian dressing room is more relaxed than ever. The cricketers are in good spirits. The mood is light and there is a sense of satisfaction among all. What difference a World Cup title does to you. Not that the Indian cricketers were a remorse lot before but their victory last month in the Caribbean has taken a significant load off their backs and it is showing in their practice sessions in Sri Lanka.
India did play a five-match series in Zimbabwe after their World Cup win but only three members from the World Cup-winning squad were part of that tour and they too joined midway. in many ways, this Sri Lanka tour is India’s first big series after the World Cup glory. There’s a lot to look forward to. Gautam Gambhir has taken over from Rahul Dravid as the team’s new head coach. There’s a new support staff in place. More importantly, India have a new T20I captain in Suryakumar Yadav.
After Rohit Sharma decided to call it quits in the shortest format, the selectors felt Surya was a better option to lead in T20Is than vice-captain Hardik Pandya because of the latter’s fitness concerns.
Another major factor highlighted by chief selector Ajit Agakar was the dressing room feedback that they got for Surya. There is a general feeling that the players feel more at ease around Surya. He has an equally good rapport with the seniors and the newcomers of the side. It was one of the striking features of his leadership during the home series against Australia last year and then in the South Africa tour, where Surya captained in the T20Is.
That quality of Surya has been on full display during India’s practice sessions in Pallekele. India have had three practice sessions so far, and in all of them, Surya was seen interacting with every member of the side. His banter with Rinku Singh spilled from Instagram to the ground.
A day after India arrived in Sri Lanka, Suryakumar shared a photograph of him and Rinku with the caption: “Theek hai bat le lena (Alright, take my bat).”
Rinku shared the story on his Instagram handle with the caption: “De do bhaiya bat (Give me your bat, brother).”
A day after their Instagram banter went viral, Rinku was asked by the reporters present in Pallekele whether Surya finally gave him his bat or not. The left-handed replied: “Virat bhai ka bat chal raha hai abhi toh (I’m using Virat Kohli’s bat for now).”
Sports Fact Real shared the video on their YouTube channel.
Rinku’s fascination with the bats of top Indian cricketers is nothing new. During KKR vs RCB IPL 2024 match in Bengaluru, Rinku requested Virat Kohli for his bat. The former India batter happily obliged. Rinku even took to social media to share the news. But the KKR star wasn’t done. In the KKR vs RCB rematch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, he came up with the same request for Kohli.
At first, Rinku informed Kohli that he had broken the bat Kohli had gifted him, leaving the 35-year-old shocked. As Rinku checked out two of Kohli’s bats on the sidelines of the practice session, the RCB legend told Rinku that he would be in trouble in the rest of the tournament if he kept giving out bats.