India back Gill, Suryakumar to rediscover form ahead of T20 World Cup

India Twenty20 captain Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill continued their run drought but the team management has backed the duo to regain their form ahead of the home World Cup early next year.

Returning from a neck injury, opener Gill managed four and zero in the first two T20 matches of the ongoing home series against South Africa. The right-hander has now gone 17 innings in this format since his last half-century.

“I thought he got (dismissed by) a good ball today, which can happen when you are short on form,” assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said after Gill, who has an impressive record in the Indian Premier League (IPL), fell for a first-ball duck against South Africa on Thursday.

“But we also know the class. If you look at his IPL record, where he stacks up 700 runs, 600 runs, 800 runs, 600 runs.

“We believe in his class and we believe he will come good.”

T20 specialist Suryakumar has endured worse. Across his last 20 innings in this format, he has compiled 227 runs at 13.35 with no fifties.

“It’s exactly the same with Surya,” ten Doeschate said. “Personally, I think you back quality players and quality leaders like that and they will come good.

“I can understand from the outside it looks like a concern, but I have got absolute faith in both of them coming good at the right time for us.”

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said the duo’s recent run of poor form was “a real cause of concern for India”.

“Surya will be under pressure because he’s the captain and as a captain, your slot in the playing 11 is secured automatically,” Pathan told JioHotstar.

“As a player, if you haven’t scored runs in a year, you are under pressure. His form has to come back before the World Cup. He needs the right batting position and better shot selection.”

India will be defending their title at the T20 World Cup that the country will host jointly with Sri Lanka from February 7.

Meanwhile, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar said promoting Axar Patel to bat at No. 3 in their 51-run defeat in the second T20I to South Africa was not the ideal move, adding that him taking time to find his rhythm also meant that the hosts’ top order didn’t click in a desired way.

In the second T20I, India made a surprising move by promoting Axar, usually a floater in the middle order, to number three.

It backfired as Axar struggled to get going and made a run-a-ball 21 before falling to pacer Ottniel Baartman.

“From India’s point of view, they needed a big contribution from their top three batters. Abhishek, Gill, and Suryakumar performance is always important when chasing a big total, because they have the chance to play the most balls. But the top three did not click, and South Africa played very well.

“They used the new ball well. Sending Axar Patel to bat at number three took him a lot of balls to find his rhythm, and it was not an ideal position for him. After that, Ottniel Baartman bowled very straight, with a ‘you miss, I hit’ style. We saw it in the ODIs too, and he got success again.

“George Linde came into the middle overs and contained the runs with tight bowling. South Africa will be very happy with how they played. They outplayed India in all three departments,” said Bangar on JioStar.

The only bright spot for India was left-handed batter Tilak Varma top-scoring with 62, an enterprising knock laced with two fours and five sixes.

“He plays proper cricketing shots and doesn’t fight the pace. In international cricket, he doesn’t just try to hit the 135-140 speed balls to mid-wicket.”

Agencies