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India batting coach Vikram Rathour revealed the reason behind Suryakumar Yadav's absence from the team's playing XI against New Zealand in the Super-12 Group B contest on Sunday.
Surya's truancy led to Ishan Kishan's entry to the side. The left-handed Jharkhand batter was also assigned opening duties against the Kiwis but his stay at the crease lasted only for eight deliveries. The 52-year-old Rathour described Ishan's promotion up the top as a tactical move.
After losing both their opening games of the T20 World Cup, the Virat Kohli-led unit, currently staring at group-stage exit, will face Afghanistan at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Labelled as 'favourites' to win the T20 showpiece this year, the Indian camp suffered shock defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand, looking mediocre against both the oppositions.
"How things went was that Suryakumar Yadav was having back spasms the previous night so he was ruled out of the game against New Zealand. The person coming in was Ishan and he has done well as an opener.
"The whole management took the call and Rohit is part of that group. He was part of that discussion, having Ishan as an opener tactically made sense. We did not want many left-handers in the late middle-order," Rathour said during a virtual press conference.
Ravindra Jadeja's finishing skills
Rathour also hailed all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for being a "fabulous finisher", adding that the Men in Blue have not been able to execute their plans in the marquee event.
"We have Jadeja in the team as well who I think is a fabulous finisher. Players like Suryakumar Yadav, players like Virat have done well for us in the past. We have enough players who can do the job, I do not see any issue. When you pick the team for World Cup, you have a slight restriction where you can pick just 15. That's the way it is. I think we have enough in our batting, we have just not been able to execute our plans."
Having faced some heat for being ineffective against Pakistan and New Zealand, Rathour pointed out the batters failing to notch up "enough runs" on the board.
"Few factors involved. Execution can be better, secondly, the wicket definitely eases up when you are bowling second and thirdly, we did not put up enough runs on the board to create that pressure. Once you are defending just 110, it gets easier for the team batting second. We are having lots of planning where bowlers are involved, our execution can be better," he further said.
