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.
