Former Indian national cricket team wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel has made a big claim on T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav amid his poor form in T20 Internationals.
Parthiv Patel bluntly said that Suryakumar Yadav is not struggling in the middle and he is not out of form; The only thing is that the right-handed batsman is not able to score runs.
You would like the captain to score runs – Parthiv Patel on Suryakumar Yadav
When Suryakumar Yadav was chosen as India’s T20I captain after Rohit Sharma retired from the format, he was ruling 20-over cricket.
Suryakumar was considered the world’s best batsman in T20 cricket, and was ranked No. 1 in the ICC Men’s T20I batting rankings and also won consecutive ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Year awards.
However, after taking over the captaincy, Suryakumar Yadav’s form has deteriorated and he is not able to score big for his team. As captain, he has played 33 matches and scored 714 runs at an average of 25.50 and strike rate of 154.54. However, he has not scored any half-century since last year.
In the ongoing five-match T20I series against the Australia national cricket team, the Indian captain has registered scores of 39*, 1, 24 and 20, which are not good enough by his standards.
Talking about Suryakumar Yadav’s form, former wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel said that Suryakumar Yadav needs to start scoring runs, but he also said that the lack of runs not affecting his captaincy is a good sign.
He said on Star Sports, “Suryakumar was batting consistently at number three. Now his situation is different because the team’s thinking has changed and that factor has to be looked at. However, that does not diminish the fact that he has to score runs. You would like the captain to score runs. This is not affecting his captaincy in any way and it is being seen on the field.”
There is a shortage of runs here, there is no struggle while batting – Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel said that the 35-year-old batsman is not struggling in the middle even on difficult pitches. He said:
“There is either a lack of runs or a lack of form. There is a lack of runs here, there is no struggle while batting. Even on bad pitches he is not struggling. So he just needs one good innings and then everything will be fine.”
Notably, India have been playing musical chairs with the No. 3 position in T20I cricket as Suryakumar Yadav batted at that position in the first and third games, and Shivam Dubey and Sanju Samson batted in the other matches.
When Parthiv Patel was asked about three things to watch out for before the conclusion of the series, he said, “Who will bat at number three? No one has been able to solve this.”
I think he is going to play a big innings – Varun Aaron
Meanwhile, former Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron said that Suryakumar has to play a big innings and he needs to do it soon.
He said, “I think he is going to play a big innings. A big half-century, a big century. It has been a long time since he has been able to score a big score.”
“Bumrah is bowling very well in the powerplay. Just needs some early successes, and we could see Bumrah five-fer; you never know.”
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