Former India head coach Ravi Shastri heaped praise on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Rahul Tripathi's batting approach and also backed the 31-year-old to make his debut for the national team in Sunday's opening T20I match of the two-match series in Ireland.
Shastri said that Tripathi has the ability to keep the scoreboard ‘ticking’ and has an excellent ‘shot-making ability as well as an all-round game.
"When he is there at the crease, the scoreboard is ticking. He doesn't go behind the edged ball. Shot-making ability, the all-round game that he has, he's not overawed by any opposition or by any bowler. He's scoring at a great rate. You know which is tremendous at no.3 because he sets it up beautifully," Shastri said while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.
After multiple omissions, Tripathi was called up to the Indian squad that will face Andrew Balbirnie’s Ireland ahead of their rescheduled Test against England that starts on July 1. The right-handed batter has been playing regularly in India’s domestic cricket circuit for more than a decade and reckoned that his hard work over the years will eventually pay off.
Tripathi came to the limelight in 2017 when he scored a plethora of runs for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPSG). Following this, he was a key cog in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad that reached the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) final and most recently for SRH in IPL 2022.
In the last season, Tripathi scored 413 runs striking at a rate of 158.24 in IPL 2022, although the Orange Army failed to qualify for the playoffs. After getting his shot to play for India, Tripathi thanked all the people who supported him through his tough times.
"It is a very big opportunity, a dream come true (moment) and (I) appreciate (it)," Tripathi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
"I am very happy that the selectors and everybody believed in me and whatever hard work I have put in, I have got the rewards. And hopefully, if I get an opportunity to play, I will try and give my best," he added.
