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India captain Suryakumar Yadav praised Ishan Kishan for carrying his domestic form into international cricket ahead of the T20 World Cup opener. He said Kishan has grabbed his opportunities at the top order. Suryakumar also admitted India will miss injured all-rounder Harshit Rana.

Mumbai: India captain Suryakumar Yadav lavished praise on the in-form Ishan Kishan stating the southpaw has been maintaining his form from domestic cricket in the international arena as well.

Suryakumar was addressing the media during the pre-match press conference prior to the T20 World Cup opener against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium.

“The way he played cricket in the last 5 T20Is. It was an international game. That's why he showed so much aggression. But if you look at the domestic cricket he was playing. In the Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20. He batted like this.

And he came here and carried the same thing. Whether it was while opening the batting or at number three. He has grabbed the opportunities he has got,” he added.

Kishan was on song against South Africa in the World Cup warm-up clobbering a brilliant 53 off just 20 balls showcasing his devastating form lately.

“He opened in the warm-up game. So I hope he bats like this. Whatever position he plays. He won't play below 3. But he will bat like this,” Suryakumar added.

Suryakumar indicated it will be a big blow for India to miss out on the services of all-rounder Harshit Rana as he is unlikely to take the field owing to an injury.

“We have 11 players for tomorrow. But it is a big blow not to have Harshit in the XI. If you make a squad of 15 players, you make a lot of combinations. You make this squad with that in mind. We made it with that in mind.”

“And if he's not available for us going forward. Then we will set other combinations. But we have enough players. We have enough combinations against all the teams,” he added.

“We will definitely miss him.”

Suryakumar said all games that India play in the World Cup will be important matches.

“All the games we will play from tomorrow, like from warm up game. Warm up game was important for us. To set the tone for the world cup. And if you play against any team all the games will be important. You can't take any team lightly. In this format. You just require 2 good batters on a given day,” he added.

The India captain felt there were no weak teams in the competition.

“I don’t see any weak teams in the competition. All 20 teams are very much capable of playing some good cricket in this format. It's a format where you can see a good player.”

“Doing well on any given day. That requires one or two batters. To make a difference or 1 or 2 bowlers. To have a good 24 balls on that given day. So we will have to play the same way.”

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Suryakumar felt having the likes of Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav in the squad is a good headache to have.

“This is an added advantage. That you have such good bowlers available. But at the same time, you have to see the combination. Who can you play against. If there is a need. That we can play two spinners. Then we will definitely play. But yes it is always good to have,” he added.

“Options like Varun Chaturvedi and Kuldeep Yadav, two best spinners in the world. And it is a very good headache.”