The T20I captain of the Indian side, Suryakumar Yadav, has enjoyed a great time in the recent four-match T20I series against South Africa with a 3-1 margin, as they drilled the Protea side with all-round performance with both bat and ball in hand. The veteran didn’t get much chance with the bat, as he showed courage to deliver the number three spot to young debutant Tilak Verma.
Suryakumar Yadav earned just 26 runs in three innings of the trip at an average of 8.66 at a strike rate of over 86, with the best score of 21. In whatever opportunities he got, the right-handed batter failed to show his skills with the blade. His captaincy was questioned on a few occasions for the entire series.
The decision not to throw the ball at the left-arm spinner, Axar Patel, during the second game of the series in Gqeberha when the other spinners in the team were having a go at the South African batters with the surface, helping the slow overs in the second innings.
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The T20I record of Suryakumar Yadav is incredible as he has smashed 2570 runs in 74 innings at an average of 40.79 for the national with a strike rate of nearly 170 with the help of four centuries and 21 half-centuries at the best score of 117.
When it comes to the overall shortest format, the right-handed batter has drilled 7743 runs in 275 innings at an average of 34.87 and a strike rate of 152.69, shouldering on 53 half-centuries and six centuries. In the previous season of the Indian Premier League, despite missing the first leg of the event with injury, he gathered 345 runs in 11 innings at an average of 34.50 and a strike rate of over 167 with three fifties and one unbeaten 102-run knock.
Suryakumar Yadav to miss start of SMAT 2024-25; Shardul Thakur thanks BCCI and MCA
The domestic T20 competition, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25, will begin on November 23 and run for a month. But the veteran will not be available for the first few games for Mumbai due to personal reasons as the reports of ‘Times of India’ have claimed.
“Yes, Suryakumar Yadav will not be available for the first few games of SMAT. He will return to action for the last few league games (in early December) and the knockouts.” It has been reported as quoted by TOI from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).
In the recent series in the Rainbow Nation, Sanju Samson, while opening the batting, celebrated a couple of centuries, while Verma also smashed two successive hundreds in the last two encounters.
On the other hand, Shardul Thakur has thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the MCA for their contribution towards his return to the game from the ankle injury, which required surgery. He finished with a match haul of 7/85 in the fifth-round clash against the Services that his side went on to win.
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“The first leg of the Ranji Trophy has concluded. Feeling great to have played five back-to-back games post-surgery and also an Irani Cup game. Thanks to @BCCI and @MumbaiCricAssoc for always looking out for me.” The Indian all-rounder expressed this in a post shared on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).
Suryakumar Yadav, due to being unavailable, won’t be facing Goa in their opening game and may miss the next few fixtures. In the history of the SMAT, the 34-year-old has smashed 1420 runs in 58 innings at an average of 33.02 and a strike rate of 147.45 with the help of eight half-centuries.
Whenever he returns, it will be a massive boost for the Mumbai team.