Rain forced the cancellation of India’s first Twenty20 International match against South Africa; Men in Blue now have five matches remaining until the T20 World Cup in 2024

India’s hopes of beginning the process of selecting the best team for the T20 World Cup in 2024 were somewhat dampened as their first game against South Africa was called off due to heavy rain on Sunday.

In actuality, not even the throw happened. Now, the ‘Men in Blue’ have only five T20Is remaining until the championship in the USA and the West Indies next year, which includes three games at home against Afghanistan in January and two more matches against the Proteas.

In that regard, India would have liked to have a head start on their hunt for the ideal mix at Kingsmead, but rain momentarily dashed their dreams. The Indian think tank will undoubtedly rely on the IPL 2024 to choose the perfect 15 players for the major tournament, as it takes place before the T20 World Cup.

That’s what India’s acting captain, Suryakumar, advised. “After the T20 World Cup, I believe there won’t be many T20s. However, we also play 14 league games in the Indian Premier League,” Suryakumar said during Saturday’s pre-match news conference.

However, nothing really replaces the self-assurance a player may get from playing well in international competitions, and if South Africa is the tour destination, the significance of a strong performance doubles. Additionally, it gives management a more accurate gauge of a player’s aptitude.

Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, and other first-time visitors to the “Rainbow Nation” would have been excited to see the distinctive flavor of cricket here, but they would now have to wait until Tuesday for the second match at St. George’s Park in Gqeberha, previously known as Port Elizabeth.

Suryakumar has led the team well while filling in for the injured Hardik Pandya during the home T20I series against Australia. The 4-1 series win for India was spearheaded by Suryakumar.

In order to demonstrate his qualifications and provide the bigwigs with another name to perhaps consider for the captain’s position, should the need arise, the 33-year-old would have preferred to get off to a winning start here against the Proteas.

Hearing the Mumbai guy remark about how comfortable he was raising a young side wasn’t totally funny back then.

“From a personal perspective, being a captain comes with a lot of responsibilities. The previous series was great (against Australia). In the next South African series, I would want to achieve the same result (winning the series).

“But from a larger perspective, we’ll see what comes ahead but for now let’s focus on the series,” he had said on Saturday.

India could have had an opportunity to evaluate their possibilities for the sixth bowler position during the Durban T20I, which becomes crucial given Pandya’s ongoing questionable health.

They may have attempted Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma, who bowled a few overs for Hyderabad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, as part-time spinners.

While stating that they have enough players in their ranks to cover that position, Suryakumar could not provide a definitive response to the sixth bowling quandary. It’s not as though we don’t have a sixth choice for bowling. You will see the sixth bowler, and perhaps the seventh or eighth (bowler) when the time is perfect,” he had said. For the time being, however, India will need to convene and solidify their preparations in front of the second game.