Indian batter Rahul Tripathi strengthened his selection case after playing a match-winning knock for Kane Williamson’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Tuesday. The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star smashed a quick-fire half-century to help SRH register a much-needed win over Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium.
From Wasim Jaffer, Irfan Pathan to Harbhajan Singh, premier batter Tripathi earned plaudits from the entire cricket fraternity for his valuable knock against the five-time champions in the world’s richest T20 league – the IPL. With the South Africa series set to be India’s first home assignment after the IPL 2022, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri is convinced that the SRH batter is on the cusp of earning a maiden India call-up.
“He’s not far at all. If someone doesn’t get up from the bench or gets up from the wrong side of the bed and gets injured, this guy can be slotted in straightaway. He can go at No. 3 or 4, he’s a dangerous player, and should be in the mix. If he’s performing season after season, I’m sure the selectors will be watching that very, very closely and giving him his due,” Shastri told ESPNcricinfo.
Tripathi scored a blistering knock of 76 off 44 balls to help SRH defeat MI by 3 runs on Tuesday. Tripathi has amassed 393 runs for Hyderabad in the IPL 2022. The former Indian head coach opined that Tripathi is also a back-up option to middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav. The MI batter has been spearheading India’s middle-order in white-ball format since 2021.
No question about that. It’s not that one swallow that makes a summer, he’s been around for a bit and what I like about his game is his fearlessness, and he’s got a tag of being a known quantity and someone the opposition wants to get out quickly. Irrespective of that, he comes out and plays his game and his shot-making ability, the all-round game that he has, he’s not overawed by any opposition or by any bowler, which is great to see,” Shastri added.
