Former India coach Ravi Shastri has pointed out one important area that Suryakumar Yadav must learn quickly if he wants to succeed as India’s T20I captain.
Suryakumar pipped Hardik Pandya to become India's next T20I captain after Rohit Sharma retired from the shortest format post the T20 World Cup triumph last month.
The middle-order star will begin his full-time T20I captaincy stint with the tour of Sri Lanka, starting on July 27 in Pallekele.
Speaking on the latest episode of The ICC Review, Shastri suggested that knowing the strengths and limitations of his bowlers and setting the field accordingly will be the most difficult task for the new skipper.
"One thing that he (Suryakumar) will have to learn from his side, is what are the strengths of his bowlers and what are the limitations," Shastri said.
"I never say a bowler has a weakness, I say a limitation and then there are strengths. And then focus on the right things and set fields accordingly. I think that's what he will have to learn," he added.
Suryakumar Yadav has the experience of leading India in some T20I matches. In Rohit’s absence following last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, he captained the national side in a T20I series against Australia at home and South Africa away. Moreover, he has stood in as captain at the domestic level for Mumbai on occasions.
According to Shastri, Suryakumar can flourish as India's T20I captain and expects to see the dashing batter adapt his batting style to the newly-assigned role.
"We know he is street smart...he is one of the best T20 players in the world at the moment," Shastri stated.
"He is a match-winner on his own, walks into the team day in, day out in that format of the game on his own steam, so I think it's not a bad idea at all.
"I think it'll [captaincy style] be much like his personality, the way he plays the game. He'll be thinking very quickly and the fact that he knows all these players, even the senior players, I think he'll be in a great position to handle the team," he concluded.
(With ICC Inputs)
