New Delhi: India skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s form with the bat will be up for scrutiny in their five-match T20I series opener against Australia in Canberra on Wednesday.
Yadav’s lean patch with the willow has stretched for quite a while though that has hardly affected the team’s performance, as India have won 23 of the 29 matches under him.
As the T20 World Cup will be held in early next year, the Australia series will serve as start of proper preparation as India will get 15 matches in this period before the big event.
From 733 runs in 18 innings at a strike rate of nearly 156 with two centuries and five fifties in 2023, Yadav amassed little less than 450 runs at a strike rate of 151 in 2024 and this year, he has managed 100 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of over 105.
‘Team first’
“I feel I have been working really hard. Not that I wasn’t working hard before. I have had good few sessions back home, good 2-3 sessions here, so I am in good space,” he said at the pre-series media interaction at the Manuka Oval.
“Runs, it will come eventually but I’m working hard towards the team goal. It’s more important what team wants from you in different situations and I take one game at a time and if it starts then I think it will be a good thing.”
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has backed Yadav, saying a string of low scores shouldn’t bother him though he would like the skipper to be back among runs sooner than later.
India’s bowling would be boosted with the return of Jasprit Bumrah after a breather in the ODI series while spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s guile would bolster the spin department.
They would have to find a way to keep the dashing Australian batters, including Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh, quiet.
The teams:
India: 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.
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott (games 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman (games 3-5), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (games 4-5), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (games 1-2), Glenn Maxwell (games 3-5), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis.
Match Starts: 1:45 pm.
Live broadcast on Star Sports Network
Live streaming on jiohotstar app and website.