Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra said Team India has been on a winning streak in T20Is under Suryakumar Yadav. However, the renowned commentator highlighted that captain SKY should return to scoring ways ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Yadav could not manage 84 runs in four innings against Australia at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 171.43. The right-hander has struggled to get the big runs in the recent past and thus he hasn’t been able to lead from the front.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t scored that many runs, although his captaincy style and his winning run have been outstanding. However, he himself hasn’t scored too many runs, which is also a reality, and that must change. Many people, including myself, believed that the Australian pitches would suit him and that he would score runs here.”
SKY remained unbeaten on 39 runs off 24 balls in the opening T20I at Canberra before rain played spoilsport and Chopra reckons the Indian captain not scoring runs is a bit of setback.
“However, runs haven’t been scored. Like Shubman (Gill), it never seemed like he was out of form. He could have scored a lot of runs in Canberra, but it rained, and he didn’t get to bat in the last match. Him not scoring runs is a bit of a setback,” he observed.
On the other hand, former Delhi cricketer showered praise on Axar Patel’s rise across all formats. Patel was awarded Player of the Match in the fourth game against Australia after he had scored a cameo of 11-ball 21 and returned with impressive figures of 2-20 in his quota of four overs.
“We got to know that if there is a choice and only one of Kuldeep and Varun can play, Varun is slightly ahead in the T20 race. The rise and rise of Axar Patel. He has been outstanding. We talk about Hardik Pandya being a very important cog in this team because he brings balance. Look at Axar Patel, he does the same thing,” he said in the same video.
India’s next T20I assignment is a five-match series against South Africa at home.
