Suryakumar Yadav hasn't been in good touch in Asia Cup 2025.
The Indian team qualified for the Asia Cup 2025 final with a 41-run win over Bangladesh in their second Super Four match on Wednesday, September 24, in Dubai. Abhishek Sharma starred with a scintillating knock of 75, but concerns were also raised at unnecessary batting order changes and the poor form of captain Suryakumar Yadav.
With 72 runs in the powerplay, openers Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma gave India a solid start. However, skipper Suryakumar moved Shivam Dube up to number three after Gill was fired. Dube only managed two runs before being removed, so the move failed.
After Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson was dropped to number eight and was not given an opportunity to bat.
“Sometimes, when you are looking to give batters some practice, you tend to change your batting order just that little bit. I don’t think there should be too much change. That can affect the team’s rhythm. The batting order also needs rhythm. Occasionally, you can push somebody up, looking at the circumstances. But to push a finisher like Dube at number three was a little difficult. That is one area where India faltered a little bit,” Gavaskar told India Today.
Gavaskar also urged Suryakumar, whose performance in international cricket has declined recently, to choose his shots more carefully. He draws attention to the fact that the skipper hasn't scored any runs himself.
Since replacing Rohit Sharma as captain, the Mumbai cricketer has had trouble with the bat. His average dropped from 43.40 to 26.82 once he was made captain, and his strike rate also decreased. The 34-year-old has only amassed 617 runs, including 104 fifties, in 25 innings over 27 games.
“You yourself, as captain, have not scored runs in the previous game. It is important for the captain to come in and get a few runs. He came at number four and got out looking to play the same shot as in the previous game. That’s a very productive shot for him, but when you are getting out to it, maybe you should not play it until you have really gotten a feel for the surface,” Gavaskar said.
His boundary-hitting has also decreased, with 61 fours and 34 sixes as captain compared to 181 fours and 114 sixes previously. The recent match marks Suryakumar’s tenth single-digit score since the T20 World Cup 2024 in his last 20 games. In 2025, he has the lowest average among Indian batters in T20Is, scoring just 12.43 per inning.
India will face the winner of the Pakistan versus Bangladesh Super Four stage match on September 25, 2025. India still has one game left, as they will face Sri Lanka on Friday in their final Super Four stage match.