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Wasim Jaffer attributes Suryakumar Yadav’s batting struggles to the dual responsibility of captaincy and limited shot selection. He scored only 28 runs in five T20Is against England.
Suryakumar Yadav in Pune (Sportzpics photo)
Former Mumbai and India batter Wasim Jaffer believes that the ‘dual responsibility’ due to the added pressure of captaincy and a recently lacking batting range is the reason behind Suryakumar Yadav’s batting struggles.
One of the best T20 batters in the world, Suryakumar had an indifferent five-T20I series against England. Although his captaincy, bowling changes and tactics were mostly spot-on and played a role in India’s 4-1 win, he managed only 28 runs in five innings at an average of 5.60 and a strike-rate of 116.67.
Most of his dismissals were off balls he tried to either pull or flick behind square on the leg side — one of his favorite and most productive shots which was used against him by England’s bowlers.
“He’s not among the runs, and he needs to address that because he is such a good batter in the shortest format of the game and has been a game-changer for the team,” Jaffer told The Times of India. “So, him not scoring runs for a while is a worry. I wouldn’t say his form has dipped because of the captaincy. I think it’s more about his shot selection in one particular area. He looks to score on the leg side only. He has been scoring and dominating the areas between square leg and fine leg. That’s what I feel. He needs to address his offside shots as well,” he added.
“Every team now knows how to bowl to Surya. They come with a specific plan and field against him. Everyone knows he hits the ball in that area only. He needs to address this by scoring in different areas. Sometimes, it seems like he has completely shut down his shots on the offside. He needs to look at his game and get it right. He’s picking the wrong ball to hit, and that’s why he’s getting out. He’s been getting out on low scores for a while now. He is a quality player, and I’m sure he will address this soon and come back to form,” the former cricketer added.
Jaffer said although the impact is indirect, the extra workload of captaincy has taken a toll on Suryakumar’s numbers.
“Yes, the dual responsibility does play a role. There’s no doubt about that. As a captain, you have to handle the team, motivate the players, deal with the support staff, go for the toss, keep players in the right frame of mind, manage team combinations, wins, and losses, speak to selectors, and handle a lot more. But when you’re not the captain, you just focus on your batting or bowling, and you focus solely on yourself,” Jaffer said.
The right-hander isn’t part of India’s ODI or Test plans so he now has enough time to work on his weaknesses until March when the IPL will start and then until the next T20I series, which is not scheduled at least till July.
