Prior to the T20 World Cup, former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta believes the Indian men's cricket team doesn't need much improvement, but captain Suryakumar Yadav's lack of runs is becoming a bigger worry. Shubman Gill, the vice-captain, might also gain from increasing his run total.

Shubman Gill made 4 runs and Suryakumar Yadav made 12 in 11 balls as India slipped to 78/4 after being asked to bat first in the first T20I against South Africa in Cuttack. However, thanks to Hardik Pandya’s 59* and contributions by Tilak Varma and Axar Patel, India posted a fighting 175/6 in 20 overs.

In response, South Africa was skittled out for 74 runs, as four Indian bowlers took two wickets each and registered a record 101-run win to go 1-0 up in the five-T20I series.  

Deep Dasgupta said that while the Indian team looks set for the T20 World Cup, the form of the Indian captain and vice-captain is a matter of worry.

“The win last night showed how good India is, especially when it is not watching the ball hit the ball pitch (Cuttack was a sticky surface). It says a lot about their depth. (On SKY and Gill) I would not say it is a concern, but ideally, you would want to see them get runs. Once you start thinking about runs, the chances are you won’t bat freely. With Surya, it is not one series; we have not seen the best of him since he took over captaincy (last year)," Dasgupta was quoted as saying to PTI.

The Indian playing XI also showed the difficulty the team management has when it comes to playing both Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav in the XI if batting depth is required up to number eight.

Arshdeep, India's top wicket-taker, was benched for the majority of the games in spin-friendly conditions in the United Arab Emirates, which raised concerns.

Before making a big impression in the series opener against the Proteas in Cuttack, where he got the dangerous caught behind with an outswinger, he participated in three of the five games played in Australia.

With Arshdeep in the team, Kuldeep Yadav, another match-winner, was left out. Kuldeep took multiple wickets throughout the ODI series despite the thick dew, demonstrating his enormous worth to the team.

“It is unfortunate (picking between Arshdeep and Kuldeep). The way Arshdeep is bowling (you have to pick him). He is the highest wicket-taker for you in the format. You would want to have both ideally, but you can’t (with batting needed till 8),” Dasgupta said.

The second T20I will be played in New Chandigarh on December 11.

(PTI inputs)