Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra delivers a candid assessment, labelling Suryakumar Yadav as the 'third-choice' for captaincy in T20Is.
Former India star Aakash Chopra delivered a scathing assessment of Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy in T20Is, expressing a "third-choice" opinion. Suryakumar is set to lead the Indian cricket team in the upcoming T20I series against South Africa, stepping in for Rohit Sharma and the absent Hardik Pandya due to injury. Despite Suryakumar's captaincy during the victorious T20I series against Australia, Chopra dismissed the notion of him being a viable captaincy option for India, asserting that he might even be the third choice for captaincy at Mumbai Indians.
Akash Chopra highlighted the changed dynamics, emphasising that with Hardik's presence at Mumbai Indians, Suryakumar has now slipped to the third spot behind the all-rounder and Rohit in the captaincy hierarchy. While acknowledging Suryakumar's effective leadership in Australia, Chopra remained skeptical about his suitability as a captain for the T20 World Cup in 2024, emphasising the challenging task of managing resources, especially in the absence of a sixth bowling option.
"I am just looking ahead. Suryakumar Yadav is currently the Indian team's captain in T20Is, but is he in your list of captains? He is probably the third captaincy choice even for the Mumbai Indians currently. Things have changed. He was the second choice until last year," he said
Chopra further pointed out that with the arrival of Hardik at Mumbai Indians, Suryakumar is now the third-choice for captaincy behind the all-rounder and Rohit.
"He might have become the third choice of his franchise. He will be the Indian captain in South Africa for sure, will captain whenever Rohit doesn't play and might be the captain against Afghanistan, but World Cup 2024, I don't see Surya as a captain," he added.
The ex-India cricketer did praise Suryakumar for his captaincy in the series against Australia and specifically mentioned the way that he managed his bowlers in the absence of a genuine sixth bowling option.
"He used the resources well despite not using a sixth bowler. Spin had an extremely important role. The make or break in the series was the eight, eight overs of spin over five games. The 40 overs of spin won you the series. It's a difficult job to figure out when to bowl 40 overs of spin."
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