One good way to address the volatility currently ailing Indian cricket is to have a leader who’s relaxed, calm and chilled-out. In this respect, India’s present T20I squad seems to have the right man in skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who sports a smile on his face most of the time.
Ever since Surya has been appointed India’s regular T20I captain following last year’s T20 World Cup, they have won almost everything. More importantly, it hasn’t come
on the back of any individual brilliance.
The T20 World Cup next year is still quite some time away, but Surya knows how to chalk out plans to keep his team ready for the big event. “There’s still a long way to go for the T20 World Cup, and we are taking one series at a time.
“We started in Sri Lanka, then played Bangladesh and went to South Africa thereafter. So, there are a few areas where we wanted to focus on and we are doing really well in that regard. The preparations are going well too.
“We’ve improved as a group and regarding the brand of cricket we want to play, I think we have already started that journey against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa, and we want to stick to that process,” Surya said on Tuesday, the eve of the first T20I against England at the Eden.
At this stage, this Surya-led Indian side is keen on “enjoying the journey” to next year’s World Cup. “We want to enjoy that journey and in that journey, it’s about finding out which player can do well in which position and which bowler can win a game single-handedly on a given day.
“These are among the small things that Gautibhai (head coach Gautam Gambhir) and I will take care of so that we are ready to do what we need to before the Asia Cup and the World Cup,” Surya explained.
Talking of India’s preparation for Wednesday’s encounter against Jos Buttler and Co., the bowlers, to counter the dew, did their bit during the training session under lights on Tuesday. Quicks Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, seamer all-rounder Hardik Pandya, and spinners Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy made the ball wet by rubbing it on the outfield before bowling.
That way, they may not feel completely out of sorts if dew makes it increasingly tougher for the bowlers during the actual game.
Batting-wise too, flexibility in the order appears to be the way forward for Surya and his teammates. “We all want to be very flexible with the batting order. Other than the openers, from No.s 3 to 8 or 7, everyone needs to be flexible with their batting position.
“Anyone can go in to bat at any time. We’ve been practising in that manner as well. So, as I said, the openers aside, the rest have to be flexible in terms of their positions in the order,” Surya emphasised.