India inaugurated a new scheme in the first T-20 against West India. It was, sending Suryakumar Kumar Yadav to open the innings with Rohit Sharma. It has been quite astonishing, as it was Rishabh Pant who was doing the job. The lefty has done that twice with Rohit, in absence of other options. Suryakumar, who has generally been a flexible middle order batter disappointed the fans for not being able to grab the new opportunity. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who joined the team in the T-20I, is also left in dark about the decision. When asked in the pre match press conference, he expressed his cluelessness. However, he has absolute faith on the decisions of Coach Rahul Dravid, and Captain Rohit Sharma.
Bhuvi, in that virtual meet ahead of the 2nd T-20, faced the question that asked, “what was the thought process behimd sending Suryakumar Yadav to open especially when the team had opened with Pant and Hooda previously?”
Bhuvi was clear with his answer,
“I really don’t know. Itna pata hai ki zaroor kuch thought process raha hoga. (All I know that there must have been some thought process behind it). It surely wasn’t random. I’m sure whatever the coach and captain want to achieve something out of this. Honestly, I don’t know what exactly was the thought process behind it. But I’m sure there must’ve been some deep thinking.”
Suryakumar has been way too disspointing with his new role! He just managed to score 24 from 16 balls. Not only that, the second T-20 was a failure for him too. He just faced 6 balls and scored 11 runs in the second.
‘He knows exactly what is required’: Bhuvi to Arshdeep
Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the entire West Indies tour. In absence of Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the unquestioned leader of the pace attack. While asked about his leadership role, he said how he enjoys talking to the youngsters. He said,
“Even if you are not leading, as a senior, if you are performing then you get a lot of enjoyment from that. Generally, I talk to the youngsters to know what they are thinking and try to tell them what I think. We discuss small things that can make a difference.”
Bhuvi is in all praise for the young pacer Arshdeep Singh. The lad bagged 2 scalps by giving just 18 runs in the debut T-20 match against England. He even took 2 wickets by giving 24 runs in the first T-20 match against West Indies. While speaking of Arshdeep, Bhuvi told,
“The best thing about him is that he knows exactly what is required. What kind of field setting is needed, how to bowl to each batsman – very few newcomers display that kind of maturity.”
India managed to win the 1st T-20, but fait by a huge margin in the second. Shreyas Iyer continued struggling with the format, whereas experimenting Suryakumar at the top wasn’t fruitful at all! Everyone collectively failed both with the bat and the ball. Hardik can be considered positive, as he gave 22 runs in 4 overs and took one wicket. With the bat, he contributed 31 runs of 31 balls.
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