3 reasons why India must give Ramandeep Singh a debut in SA vs IND 2nd T20I 2024

India take on South Africa in the first T20I of the four-match bilateral series being played between the two teams at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday, November 8. Both teams sport extremely young looks in their rosters.

India have selected Ramandeep Singh of Punjab and Vijaykumar Vyshak of Karnataka for the first time, and it will be interesting to see if either of them gets an opportunity and converts it into something big.

Singh has pictured himself to be a good middle-order hitter in the shortest format of the game, given that he batted with a strike rate of 201.61 for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL earlier this year.

While it is a bit surprising that he has been called up to the national team after just one IPL season, in which he averaged 31 in nine innings, the management must have seen something special in him.

In this listicle, we take a look at three reasons why India must give Ramandeep an opportunity in the first match of this series in Durban:

#1 He can provide them with a hitting option in the middle-order

The biggest reason why India must play Ramandeep in Durban is so that he can provide them with a big-hitter's option in the middle order. With most of India's heft situated in the top order and only Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh the designated finishers, they could do with the versatility Ramandeep offers.

The Punjab batter is known to strike the right balance between rotating the strike as well as hitting it in the air when the occasion demands him to. His extremely impressive strike rate of over 200 in the 2024 IPL points towards this strength of his, and coach VVS Laxman will be keen to utilize him to the best of his potential.

#2 He can also give them a few overs with the ball

Another good reason why India must hand Ramandeep a debut is that he can offer them a few crucial overs with the ball if need be. Although all-rounder Hardik Pandya is bound to be a sure name in the playing XI, having Ramandeep will not harm their chances by any means.

In the recently concluded Emerging Men's Asia Cup, Ramandeep provided India with breakthroughs against Oman and UAE with his military medium pace. Against the hosts, he picked up a wicket by conceding just two runs in one over, whereas against the latter, he returned with decent figures of 2-7.

#3 He can add to India’s bench strength as a seam bowling all rounder

With Nitish Reddy in Australia, India will be keen on developing another seam-bowling all rounder in their ranks, and Ramandeep fits this category really well. He can add to the depth of the team, and going by recent selections, it is clear that the management wants to explore this as well.

Ramandeep can be the player whom the management needs as a backup to both Pandya and Reddy in case he is needed to step up with the ball. However, his bowling credentials are not that well-known in first-class cricket, and it remains to be seen how well he copes to the challenges of international cricket.

Ramandeep can add greatly to the bench strength India need for seam-bowling all rounders, and can join the ranks alongside Reddy to take the torch forward from Pandya.