India skipper Suryakumar Yadav has finally broken his silence on the decision to drop vice-captain Axar Patel for the crucial T20 World Cup Super 8 fixture against South Africa last month.
Speaking on the eve of the final against New Zealand, Suryakumar revealed that he and head coach Gautam Gambhir have to make tough calls, even though the decisions might upset others. In Axar’s case, it was no different, as the player was disappointed to be left out of such a critical fixture.
The veteran all-rounder was rested for the group-stage game against the Netherlands before being surprisingly omitted from the clash against the Proteas in Ahmedabad, which India lost by 76 runs.
“Tough calls are taken by Gautam Gambhir and me. Axar wasn’t happy when he was dropped, but these things happen. Sanju, we realised we needed and it was a positive call,” Suryakumar said.
Suryakumar also praised Gambhir for his selfless approach, saying that the India head coach emphasises what is best for the team instead of personal milestones.
“Unka bas chale, toh wo he pad pehen ke aa jaye (If he gets his way, then he would himself come out to bat). He has played in World Cups before and helped the team win. His mantra has always been to take contributions from every player. Cricket is one sport where one or two players cannot help you win the trophy. In every game, all of our players contributed. In the semi-final, that was the case. In a team sport, every batter needs to click for a complete performance,” he added.
Meanwhile, India will take on New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Both teams have taken similar paths to the semifinals.
India topped their preliminary group stage and then scampered into the last-four stage, beating the West Indies in a must-win clash, while New Zealand qualified on the basis of better Net Run Rate after a tie on four points with Pakistan in the Super 8 stage.