“I Do not Need To Be Captain, I Need To…”: Suryakumar Yadav Makes Daring Assertion

India captain Suryakumar Yadav, whose captaincy abilities have been on show through the first T20I towards Sri Lanka, said that he needs to categorise himself as a frontrunner and never as a captain. When Sri Lanka’s opening duo of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis inflicted carnage in Pallekele, the 214-run whole began turning into a snug chase for the hosts. Sri Lanka raced to 84/0 within the ninth over and seemed properly set to spoil the start of Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar’s period.

With India fielding solely 5 mainstay bowlers, Suryakumar was operating out of choices. Within the ninth over, he introduced Arshdeep Singh again into the thick of motion, hoping for a breakthrough.

The younger left-armer delivered and eliminated Mendis from the crease. The setback did not cease Sri Lanka from retracting their aggressive strategy.

Nevertheless, Lankans have been compelled to take a step again after Suryakumar launched Axar Patel within the fifteenth over. With the pitch providing flip, Axar weaved magic and dismissed Kusal Perera and set-batter Nissanka to take the sport away from the hosts.

Suryakumar’s captaincy abilities have been recognised and praised by former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan. Nevertheless, Suryakumar needs to be greater than a captain of the India T20I group.

“I… I do not need to be a captain; I need to be a frontrunner. That is it. It felt good to see such good help right here and on this nation,” Suryakumar mentioned in a video posted by BCCI on X.

???? Showcasing a few of #TeamIndia‘s stars from first T20I ????#SLvIND | @surya_14kumar | @akshar2026 | @ParagRiyan pic.twitter.com/LRG1ZiIiQa

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 28, 2024

One of many key highlights of the sport was Suryakumar handing the ball to Riyan Parag. The teenager who did not ship with the bat chipped in with helpful contributions with the ball.

He expelled the spinning observe, picked up the spots for his supply and bagged a three-wicket haul whereas giving freely simply 5 runs in his 1.2 overs.

The 33-year-old make clear what led to him handing the ball to Parag on the essential juncture of the sport.

“This Riyan Parag might be particular as a result of I’ve seen him bowl within the IPL in addition to within the nets. And I additionally mentioned on the PC that he has an X-factor,” Suryakumar mentioned.

India went on to efficiently defend their whole by proscribing Sri Lanka to 170. After going 1-0 within the sequence, India took an unassailable lead within the second T20I on Sunday.

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