Suresh Raina gives his opinion on Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh

The recently concluded Indian T20 League 2022 saw several young and impressive talents show glimpses of their potential  The likes of Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh are two of many such talents who are ready to light up the international stage. The ex-Chennai Kings and India player Suresh Raina believes that the upcoming T20I series against South Africa would be a crucial introduction to the international stage for these individuals. He also believes that the performance in this series would be a big test for these two players.

The Indian squad for the five-match T20I series was announced last month with some interesting omissions as well as some exciting inclusions. Senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami were all rested while Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh were given maiden call-ups.

Speaking to Star Sports about the importance of the upcoming series, the southpaw said, “It is extremely important because you will get to see all the players who performed in the Indian T20 League. But how they perform for India will matter. The mindset is important if you have to play for India.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator was also cautious of the drop in performance among players in intense heat. While explaining the same, he said. “When the matches happen, it will be extremely hot, the matches will be played in June. There are a lot of things to look for in Umran Malik who is a talented bowler, and Arshdeep, the way he has bowled.

Shifting his focus on KL Rahul, who scored 616 runs in this edition of the Indian T20 League, Raina said, “KL Rahul as a captain. He has impressed a lot but it is now the turn of the Indian team, I feel he will do very well.”

India begins their international season on June 9th against a motivated South African team at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Thus, it will be exciting to see how India performs in the upcoming series against the Temba Bavuma-led side.