Shastri reveals key to Suryakumar's captaincy success
Former India coach Ravi Shastri has identified one key area that Suryakumar Yadav must learn quickly if he is to flourish in his new role as India’s T20I captain.
Suryakumar beat a hot field recently when he was announced as Rohit Sharma's successor as India's T20I captain and the star batter won't have to wait long to show his wares with the side about to embark on a three-match series against Sri Lanka away from home.
Shastri believes Suryakumar can prosper as India's T20I captain, but has warned the 33-year-old that he will need to quickly work out how to juggle India's bevy of bowling options.
Speaking with host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review, Shastri suggested working out the strengths and limitations of his bowlers and how to set the field for each individual will be the most difficult task for the new skipper.
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"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 pondered.
"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."
Suryakumar has previous experience as captain, having led India in T20I series against Australia at home and South Africa away following last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in Rohit’s absence. Additionally, he has occasionally captained at the domestic level for Mumbai.
Suryakumar Yadav has dazzled in the T20 World Cup 2024 with some fine batting.
Shastri thinks Suryakumar can excel as India's T20I captain and expects to see the star batter adapt his dynamic batting skills to the newly-appointed role.
"We know he is street smart...he is one of the best T20 players in the world at the moment," Shastri said.
"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."