Former Pakistani cricketer, Wasim Akram backs Suryakumar Yadav amid his poor form in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, almost repeating the same line that he did back in Asia Cup 2022 to support Virat Kohli, back then the former Indian skipper was struggling to score runs.
While Surya in the ongoing IPL 2023 has been in a ‘grey patch’, the 32-year-old was dismissed for a golden duck in Mumbai Indians’ (MI) latest outing and has only managed 16 runs in three matches this season, before the 16th edition of the cash-rich league started, he was dismissed on three consecutive ducks in ODIs against Australia.
Wasim Akram while rescuing Suryakumar Yadav said something similar for Virat Kohli-
“Look, he (Suryakumar Yadav) is a great player and everyone is aware of it. A batsman cannot be out of form because if you are out of form then you tend to defend the first two deliveries and don’t go after hitting.
“With Suryakumar, the form is temporary and class is permanent. I understand he faced problems in the One-Days but no worries as the batsman goes through such a phase,” said the Ex-Pakistani cricketer.
IPL 2023 has not been going well for No.1 T20I batter, Suryakumar Yadav, as it looks like he has carried his grey patch in International cricket to the T20 league, he was the regular feature for Team India in 20 over fixtures but after Shreyas Iyer’s injury he got the opportunity to play in Test and ODIs, but he failed miserably in both the fixtures.
“Here, the team management will have to back him and tell him you are our match-winner. I am sure that guy has the ability to win the game on his own and will win one game which will look like an unbelievable performance,” he added.
The veteran pacer had also said something about Kohli ahead of India’s match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup last year. Kohli was in poor form before the tournament and had not scored a century since 2019, but after the continental tournament ended, India’s talisman broke the barrier and scored his first T20I hundred against Afghanistan.
Watching ? ➡️ enjoying ? ➡️ playing ?
Rohit, Harman, Surya and Ishan know what this #ESADay means and can do for the girls. ?#OneFamily #MumbaiMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians #TATAIPL #IPL2023 @ImRo45 @ImHarmanpreet @surya_14kumar @ishankishan51 @ril_foundation pic.twitter.com/BYVtaua2t3
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 16, 2023
“He is extraordinary. He is averaging 50-plus in all formats, he is still fit as a fiddle, he is still one of the best fielders in the Indian squad and like they say, form is temporary, class is forever. That is Virat Kohli. I am sure he will come back and score runs. I hope he doesn’t come back against Pakistan, but he will make a comeback,” the former Pakistani skipper said on Kohli.
Whereas Rohit Sharma-led MI has won one game and lost two in three games it played this season, now for their next clash, they will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), MI vs KKR, on April 16 ( Sunday) at Wankhede Stadium for an afternoon game.