Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has spoken bluntly about Suryakumar Yadav’s recent batting slump. Suryakumar has scored only 119 runs in his last ten T20I innings, averaging a woeful 13.22, which Chopra believes he must overcome despite being the captain of the team and a vital member of the batting unit.
Aakash Chopra reminded the Indian captain that his major responsibility was to be among the runs as well as ready for tosses and pitch management. The Agra native also mentioned that Suryakumar has yet to score big in the shortest version of the game, with the vital T20 World Cup 2026 beginning on February 7.
“You are the team’s captain, but a captain’s job is not just to do the toss and manage the bowlers. It’s not just about making the strategy. If you bat in the top four, your primary role is to score runs. It’s been many matches. If you have an average of 14 in 17 innings and the strike rate is also not very good, you don’t have a single fifty, and have crossed 25 just twice, it’s been a problem on either side of the IPL,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Chopra also considered the form of Suryakumar Yadav assistant and opening batter, Shubman Gill.
Notably, the ace batsman has struggled to get going in the 20-over format, scoring only four runs and recording a duck in the first two games of the ongoing five-match series against South Africa.
“If you are playing at No. 3 or No. 4 and are not scoring runs, and they aren’t being scored consistently and over a long period of time, you won’t be that confident when you start the [T20] World Cup. So, Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, and Shubman Gill, the vice-captain, scoring runs is absolutely imperative,” he added.
India are currently engaged in a five-match series against the Proteas. Suryakumar and Shubman Gill have not had the best of outings so far. The duo have aggregated only 21 runs in four innings across the first couple of games of the assignment, which is not a great outcome in the context of the Indian batting unit failing to make an impact.
The series’ third T20I will be contested on December 14 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. The Men in Blue will be hoping that the Suryakumar-Gill pair will resume fire throughout the remaining of the series.
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