Shamik Chakrabarty in Sri Lanka
Riyan Parag made one turn sharply after pitching. Kamindu Mendis went forward to negotiate the turn, but the ball went past the outside edge. Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain, promptly brought in a slip.
The field change was logical and expected, but Parag is a genuine part-timer and Surya could have stuck to a more defensive field. He chose to be proactive, knowing fully well that Parag might not be as consistent with his line and length as a specialist spinner. The skipper, though, backed his bowler.
India have already sealed the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka by winning the first two games and more than anything else, the hosts’ middle-order muddle has contributed to their defeats. But the way Surya has handled his bowlers, even when his team was under pressure, was impressive.
It was important to use Parag, the team’s sixth bowling option, in a smart way. Surya has done that. In the first game, he brought the youngster into the attack in the 17th over, when India had wrested the initiative. It gave the newcomer the opportunity to bowl to Sri Lanka’s lower order, and Parag returned with three wickets.
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In the second match, with the Pallekele pitch assisting grip and turn, Surya used Parag early, in the ninth over. And he allowed him to bowl to his own plans without interfering much. Surya had captained the Indian T20I side before, against Australia at home last year, followed by a three-match series in South Africa. But the ongoing series is his first assignment as the permanent T20I captain. It’s early days, but Surya has made a good start.
And he is earning the trust of his bowlers by being a “bowlers’ captain”. After the first match, Axar Patel spoke about this. “I know that he (Surya) is a bowlers’ captain,” Axar told reporters. “He gives the bowlers freedom to set their fields and back them even when they get hit. He comes up with his inputs but allows the bowlers to bowl to their plans. I have enjoyed playing under him.”
Ravi Bishnoi dittoed after claiming three wickets in the second T20I. “I have played under him (Surya) before, against Australia,” the leg-spinner said at the post-match press conference. “He is a very good captain, someone who backs his bowlers. From a bowler’s point of view, there’s nothing better than when a captain backs him.”
Eyebrows were raised when Surya was chosen as Rohit Sharma’s successor in the shortest format instead of Hardik Pandya. Apart from his unhindered availability, the other thing that went in Surya’s favour was his popularity in the dressing room. “He has been around the group over the last year, we get feedback from the dressing room a lot,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar told reporters on the appointment. The way Surya has started, his popularity should increase.
There was a concern about how Pandya would react to the snub. He was the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup, but a natural succession didn’t happen. But as Surya said, Pandya remains a “very important member” of the group and like a true professional, the all-rounder has taken things in his stride. In the second T20I, his two wickets and 22 not out off nine balls seriously contributed to India’s seven-wicket win.
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