New Delhi [India], February 22 : Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has criticised India's skipper Suryakumar Yadav for his slow batting in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Manjrekar praised Suryakumar's 84-run knock in the tournament opener against the USA in Mumbai with his calibrated approach, but feels he really pulled down the shutters quite a lot after that, making it hard for Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh in the death over.
"There is something that I am seeing in Suryakumar Yadav which I'm not liking too much. 77-6, India against USA, at the Wankhede, and Suryakumar Yadav had to change his game, which he did brilliantly. Just slowed down a little bit, and then exploded, and got a great score, player of the match, and everything," Manjrekar said on his Instagram page.
"Since then, I think he is taking that a bit too far. Against Pakistan, where India lost a couple of wickets, he really pulled down the shutters quite a lot. He and Tilak Varma are both playing slightly conservatively, and in the end, what happens is that people like Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh are not really tapped into resources as much," he continued.
Manjrekar also said that it is dangerous in T20s, a senior or captain feeling like he must stay at the crease, especially when batting first and when chasing 200-plus totals, no top-order batter should try to "control" the innings and carry the team to a set score and believes such a mindset is dangerous. He also urged Surya to be careful about that.
"In T20 cricket, that is a dangerous thing to do, where a senior player or captain feels like he has got to stay in, especially while batting first. When you are setting targets of 200 plus, if you have somebody in the top four who believes that he is the guy who has got to control the innings and make sure he is the one who will take India to a certain score, that is a very dangerous tactic. No batter must think like that. So, Surya must be careful about that," Manjrekar concluded.
Indian skipper has made 164 runs so far in the tournament, only second to Ishan Kishan among Indian batters. However, his sluggish 136.13 strike rate stands way behind Kishan, who leads the charts with a 202.29 strike rate.
India will now face off against South Africa in their first Super 8 fixture of the ongoing T20 WC in Ahemdabad on Sunday. India won all their matches in the group stage and finished at the top of the table in group A with 8 points.