"Without significant scores at number three will inevitably create internal scrutiny": Nayar highlights Suryakumar Yadav's form slump

New Delhi [India], October 28 (ANI): Ahead of the first T20 against Australia, former Team Indian assistant coach Abhishek Nayar reflected on India's T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav's poor form with the bat.

BCCI passed down the captaincy mantle to Suryakumar after Rohit Sharma hung up his boots in the T20Is following the conclusion of India's unbeaten T20 World Cup-winning campaign last year. With the captaincy responsibilities on his shoulders, the 34-year-old has played 22 T20 matches, scoring 330 runs at an average of 18.33 while striking at 142.85.

India will clash with Australia in a five-match T20 series starting on Wednesday. This is the first time the T20 world champions and Australia will square off in the shortest format of cricket since their Super 8 match in last year's T20 World Cup when Rohit Sharma left Australia bamboozled with a rollicking 92 off 41 and lifted India to a comfortable 24-run win.

"This Australian tour presents an interesting scenario. While team victories often overshadow individual performances, any downturn in results will raise questions. As India's T20I Captain and someone who's been the number one-ranked batter in T20I cricket for a long period of time, Suryakumar's extended run without significant scores at number three will inevitably create internal scrutiny. We know his calibre and impact potential, and Australian conditions with their bounce and pace should actually benefit his batting style. Ultimately, the biggest questions will come from within, as this current output doesn't reflect his true capabilities, " Abhishek Nayar said on JioHotstar.

Yadav's bat remained quiet during India's Asia Cup triumph last month, managing just 72 runs in six innings with an average of 18.00 and a strike rate hovering around 100.

Suryakumar will aim to rediscover his form in the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia, starting Wednesday at Canberra's Manuka Oval.

Overall, the two behemoths have faced each other 32 times in T20Is, with India emerging victorious 20 times and Australia winning just 11. Unlike the previous instances, Suryakumar Yadav will lead India, with Rohit retiring from the format after India lifted the T20 World Cup title in Barbados in 2024.

India's T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar. (ANI)

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