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India's legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come in defense of underfire captain Suryakumar Yadav who hasn't had the best of tournaments with the bat. Ashwin said that Suryakumar is playing a high-risk game and often batting at different position as per the situation of the game. He feels that Suryakumar is following in Rohit Sharma's footsteps which should be encouraged.
"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 sink thinking about this average. Surya as a captain is playing a high-risk game which is extremely amazing," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"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," he added.
In the ongoing T20 Asia Cup 2025, Suryakumar has scored 71 runs from five innings at an average of 23.66. His strike rate is 107.57. Ashwin is not concerned about Suryakumar’s average and wants him to score freely.
"If Surya averages 25 but strikes at 170, I'm much happier with that than him doing 40 at a lower strike rate. Don't get after him for this, don't put pressure. T20 cricket needs impact, not average," the 39-year-old further added.
Suryakumar faces the Rauf challenge
Suryakumar hasn't had much success against Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf who did not play in the group stage but got his wicket for a duck in the Super Fours clash. It will be interesting to see where Suryakumar slots himself in the batting lineup for the final.
Suryakumar’s T20I record vs Pakistan
From seven T20Is against Pakistan, he has 111 runs at an average of 18.50 and strike rate of 118.08. His high score against Pakistan came in the group stage clash when he scored 47 not out in the successful run chase.
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