"T20 cricket needs impact, not average": Ashwin backs T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 27 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin backed struggling T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who has had an average run this year in the shortest format, saying that he should not be put under pressure and T20 cricket "needs impact, not average".

India and Pakistan will be locking horns in the final of Asia Cup on Sunday in Dubai. The spotlight will be on skipper Suryakumar, who has not looked at his best in T20Is this year and has proved to the world that India's 'Mr 360' is a mortal after all. In five games, he has scored just 71 runs at an average of 23.66 with best of 47* in this tournament. He has struck at a strike rate of 107.57.

However, as a captain this year, he has managed just 99 runs in 10 innings at an average of 12.37, with a sub-par strike rate of 110. The right-hander has not been the same since taking up captaincy last year, having made just 329 runs in 19 innings at an average of 19.35, with just two fifties and six scores of above 20, at a strike rate of over 145. These numbers suggest that bowlers have found a way to subdue a once-unstoppable force which could play with the field and bowler's mind at will.

His overall T20I batting average of 43.33 before captaincy last year, has witnessed a massive decline, with his newest figures being 37.59.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, "Regarding Suryakumar, people say his average dropped after captaincy. But with that, a new brand of cricket started. I don't want him to be averaging 40. Always in T20 cricket, we keep thinking about this average. Surya, as a captain, is playing a high-risk game, which is extremely amazing. Rohit showed this, putting no price on his wicket, always committing to aggression. Surya's following this, coming in at different slots, not always at three."

"If Surya averages 25 but strikes at 170, I am much happier with that than him doing 40 at a lower strike rate. Don't get after him for this, do not put pressure. T20 cricket needs impact, not average," he concluded.

Suryakumar also notably has a poor record against Pakistan in T20Is, having made just 111 runs in seven innings at an average of 18.50 and a strike rate of 118.08, having exceeded 20-run mark during his 47* in the group stage clash for the first time ever against the arch-rivals.

Squads:

India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube

Pakistan Squad: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha(c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris(w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Hasan Nawaz, Sufiyan Muqeem. (ANI)

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