Suryakumar Yadav’s average & strike rate see remarkable dip since assuming captaincy

India’s T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav has witnessed significant decline in average and strike rate since assuming leadership responsibilities.

India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav is on a roll, boasting of the best winning percentage (81.48) among skippers who have led India in at least 20 T20Is. However, when it comes to his batting performance as a T20I skipper, his average is almost half of his statistics as a batter. 

He averages 26.82 as a T20I skipper for India, down from a high 43.40 as a batter. However, his strike rate in both the roles is above 150, implying SKY has stuck to his aggressive batting style irrespective of his role as a skipper or non-skipper.

Here’s a look at how SKY performs as a pure batter and as a captain. 

SKY’s inconsistency worrisome 
The situation is alarming as SKY’s recent performances as a batter does not inspire confidence although the team is doing well with a seven-match winning streak. He last scored a fifty in T20Is a year ago, when he made 75 against Bangladesh at Hyderabad in October 2024. 

Since that knock, he has made a score of above 30 only once in 14 matches. The streak includes three ducks in 14 games. On the other hand, he has had only three ducks in 74 games before the 75-run knock. His average in these 14 games has been an embarrassing 11.30, aggregating 113 runs in 14 games. 

This is a far cry from SKY’s career batting average of 37.95. Not only average, his strike rate has also dwindled, with SKY taking 107 balls to make those 113 runs in the last 14 games. This accounts for an embarrassing strike rate of 105.6, yet another far cry from his career strike rate of 165.23.

Read More: Numerical story of India’s batting dominance in T20Is post T20 WC 2022

So, is there something really wrong with SKY, the batter?

Team’s performance has hidden SKY’s inconsistency
It cannot be denied that SKY’s dismal show in T20Is has been hidden by the team’s collective performance, with India losing just one game out of 10 this year. But how long can the team carry an inconsistent batter? His numbers show a star batter in decline. 

It’s not like SKY slotted himself down the order. In all those 14 games, he has either batted at No 3 or No 4 that gives ample overs for a batter to pace up his innings and score runs for himself and the team. However, that has not happened for him in recent memory, putting additional pressure on him to perform or hit himself out of form every time he goes out to bat.

Captaincy affecting SKY?
The stats suggest SKY batted freely when he played purely as a batter as he threw caution to the wind and took the attack to the opposition’s camp. He averages in the mid-40s, and a strike rate of close to 170 as a pure batter in T20Is. His strategy worked till it lasted. 

But with captaincy, his average and strike rate have gone south, averaging in mid-20s, and strike rate of over 150. Although the 150 strike rate is decent, the lack of runs from SKY’s bat has been unimpressive, as he has been unable to lead from the front which SKY takes pride in.  

It must be noted that SKY has been rather flexible with the batting order to give every player some game time in the middle. The strategy has been followed so strictly that SKY didn’t even turn up to bat against Oman in the ongoing Asia Cup even after the eighth wicket had fallen down, and stayed in the dugout as the number 11th batter. 

It could be argued that the dynamic demands of a T20I captaincy is finally catching up on the ageing SKY who is struggling now to lead the team from the front.

Read More: Is Sanju Samson’s game suited for the middle order in T20 cricket?

It’s the same old story in both innings
SKY’s batting stats as a captain does not show much of a difference whether the team bats first or second. A look at his performance in both innings show similar results. His average hovers around less than 30 in both the innings, but his strike rate is above 150. 

It implies that his recent struggles have been common across both innings in terms of getting runs from the bat, but not in terms of showing intent and aggressive approach to accumulate those runs. 

Has SKY’s technique been dealt with by opponents?
When SKY first broke through the T20I scene, his innovative strokemaking was the talk of the town. The Nataraj-style scoop, the ramp shots, the sweeps and its reverse, and the reverse scoops, but thanks to data analytics, opposition teams have been able to zero down opposition batters’ weaknesses, and continue to exploit them. SKY too seems to have been sorted out by oppositions, and is unable to break through from this lean period.

Read More: Pressing need for India to stick to format specialists in T20Is 

Experimentation of batting line-up to be blamed?
There has been no pattern as such in SKY’s dismissals of late. However, the continued experimentation of shuffling the batting order to keep a left-right combination in the middle or put the right match-ups, or just for the sake of it has not only troubled SKY, but other batters as well. 

Sanju Samson can be a prime example, who is not sure where he is going to bat next after he has been moved up and down the order in the ongoing Asia Cup. The instability in the batting order could have had an impact on a player’s performance as the cricketer has to keep adjusting his game every time he comes out to bat at a new slot. 

The way forward
This could be a passing phase for Suryakumar Yadav, as the India captain has been selfless in promoting young India batters ahead of him to give them more game time. Hence, statistics do not convey the real story of SKY, the batter, while he has done exceedingly well as a leader since he took over as full-time T20I captain after the 2024 World T20. However, a captain must lead from the front to not only gain confidence but inspire his team to go for glory. SKY should find out a way to come out this phase, and get back to run-scoring ways that he has done so well throughout his T20I career.

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