Hope Dayal, Vyshak and Ramandeep get an opportunity to play for India: Anil Kumble

The four-match T20I series between South Africa and India might not be as hyped as the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy for obvious reasons. However, it serves as an inriguing prelude to a gruelling period as far as Indian cricket is concerned. With the seasoned campaigners gearing up for one of their biggest obstances Down Under, the 15-member squad drafted to play South Africa is filled with youngsters, inclduing three players - Ramandeep Singh, Yash Dayal and Vijaykumar Vyshak - looking to earn their debut international caps.  

Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble discussed the prospect Dayal and Vyshak are the bowlers shortlisted by the management. Kumble praised Dayal's grit and was effusive of his ability with the ball. As for Vyshak, he admitted that it surprising that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru did not retain him ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

"Yash Dayal, after those five sixes by Rinku Singh, has certainly come back strong. That shows a lot about his character – what he can bring to the table. He's a fantastic left-arm seamer and moves the ball both ways. He's developed his game around bowling in the death overs as well; he did really well for RCB last season. Vyshak is really good. Again, a domestic player who's done a lot of good work for Karnataka. Unfortunately, he didn't get enough opportunities for RCB, and I was a bit surprised that they didn't retain him. But I hope he gets an opportunity in South Africa. Again, he has all the variations of bowling in the death overs," stated Kumble while speaking on JioCinema’s Insiders’ Preview.

Kumble also shed light on Ramandeep's all-round potential as a hard-hitter and a handy right-arm medium pacer. He hoped that the 27-year-old would get some overs under his belt, emphasising the need for the reintroduction of reliable part-timers in the Indian setup.  

"Ramandeep has done really well. I think he's really come up with strides, especially after his move to KKR. Batting in that middle period where he's been that striker who can really destroy even when he gets three or four balls. That's been the best part about Ramandeep. And he's a gun fielder; we've seen that in that emerging championship (ACC Men's T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024). He bowls a bit too. So, I hope he gets to do the bowling part as well because people tend to ignore the all-rounders, especially with the Impact Player rule in the IPL. I hope he gets a bit of bowling because that's something which is needed at the international level," noted Kumble.

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Will be good to see how he copes with those four games in South Africa: Kumble

Kumble also addressed the subject of Sanju Samson as a top-order batter, labelling him as a "class act".

"There's been a lot of talk about keeping Sanju Samson for a long period of time, and that hundred that he got [against Bangladesh] certainly would have given him a lot of confidence. We know the ability of Sanju Samson, he is a class act. The consistency is something that is a little missing, and that's something I'm sure the Indian selectors would be looking for. Keeping him at the top of the innings, either at number one, two, or three, is where I think he can certainly add a lot of value to this team. He has that backfoot play, plenty of time against fast bowlers, and he can destroy the spinners too. So, it'll be good to see how he copes with those four games in South Africa in those conditions," added Kumble.