'Not out of form', Suryakumar says he was confident that 'Shivam Dube will deliver'

Dubai [UAE], September 29 (ANI): India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav doesn't consider himself "out of form" even though the statistics point towards a lacklustre Asia Cup campaign during which his bat remained silent for the majority of the tournament.

India's unbeaten title-winning run was fuelled by Abhishek Sharma doing the bulk of the scoring, while the middle order rose to the occasion when the situation demanded it. During India's attempts to gun down a 147-run target, Abhishek faltered, and India needed its skipper to take the onus in the final against Pakistan in front of a jam-packed crowd.

Suryakumar scratched his way to 1(5) before being outfoxed by Shaheen Afridi's slower delivery and holed out to his Pakistan counterpart, Salman Agha, on the sluggish Dubai strip. Throughout the tournament, the crafty batter mustered up just 72 runs in seven innings at an average of 18.00, with a strike rate barely above 100 and a best of 47*.

After India clinched the title with a five-wicket win, Suryakumar jokingly addressed his form and told reporters, "Start hi nahi mila convert kaha se honge." He went on to give an assessment about his silent outings with the bat that he feels is correct and said, "I am not out of form, but I am out of runs. That's what I believe."

The Indian skipper also addressed the absence of the stylish all-rounder Hardik Pandya from the final, which stemmed from a niggle. During India's Super Over win over Sri Lanka in their final Super Fours fixture, Hardik bowled just one over throughout the contest. He spent the majority of the time outside the circle of action.

After India escaped the contest with a win, bowling coach Morne Morkel provided an update on Hardik and told reporters, "Hardik, we will assess tonight and tomorrow morning and make a call. But both of them struggled with cramps."

Suryakumar revealed that Hardik tries to push himself towards fitness on the eve of the final, but at the end, it wasn't meant to be and said, "See, of course, he was very dejected after he got to know that he wouldn't be able to take part in the final. Any player would love to be part of the playing XI for the final. Yesterday, he tried his best, and the sports science team tried their best to have him on the ground, but sometimes it is above all these things."

In Hardik's absence, Shivam Dube had to take the brunt of opening India's attack with the new ball. To everyone's surprise, Dube chained Pakistan's opening pair with his consistent line and length and finished with figures of 0/23 in his three-over spell. Even though several fans were left gobsmacked by Dube's performance, Suryakumar was not surprised by his execution.

"Shivam Dube has practised with the old and new ball. We play with eight batters and a lot of all-rounders. He took up the responsibility. I have seen him perform with the ball in the domestic side. I was confident, and the coach was confident that he would deliver, and we were not surprised by the way he performed," he added. (ANI)

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