Ravichandran Ashwin noticed that Suryakumar looked in good touch and said this will be a big positive for the batsman. He also feels that Team India's management is backing all-rounder Shivam Dube to be handy with the ball as well
Ravichandran Ashwin (Pic: File Pic)
In the first T20I match against New Zealand on Wednesday, Team India emerged victorious by 48 runs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who was struggling to find himself among the runs, delivered a helpful knock during India's batting. Facing 22 balls, he scored 32 runs, including four boundaries and a maximum.
Speaking about his knock on 'Ash ki Baat', former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin said that the innings took the monkey off his back. He also noticed that Suryakumar looked in good touch and said this will be a big positive for the batsman.
"It is a monkey off the back. A lot of people were talking about Suryakumar's batting and his form and all of that. In all honesty, in T20 cricket, you don't have to aim for consistency," said the former cricketer.
"What I liked was that he got those runs; he looked in good touch today. If a batter wants to look to get runs, they would have looked to get a fifty. But Surya did not do that. This team has a theme, they will look to keep scoring and hitting. He looked in his element. He looked good and this is a big positive for him," he added.
Ashwin also feels that Team India's management is backing all-rounder Shivam Dube to be handy with the ball as well.
"Maybe there will surely be a conversation to bring in a bowler, seeing how (Shivam) Dube's bowling goes. But he got three overs today. So they are backing his bowling, and I think there are conversations around him bowling. This is probably the combination," said Ashwin.
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The veteran cricketer also said that he would like to watch Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Kuldeep Yadav to line up for the side.
"But I am a big fan (of Kuldeep). You will have to get strong as a pack in T20 cricket and address the strengths somewhere else. If you do not have Jasprit Bumrah or someone else, then you have to address with a bit of batting depth. But in this team, you are getting runs in the powerplay, Hardik (Pandya) is scoring, you have seven bowling options. I would like to play Bumrah, Arshdeep (Singh), Varun (Chakravarthy), and Kuldeep. But if it is like today, then it is absolutely fine," concluded the 39-year-old former cricketer.
(With ANI Inputs)
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