India’s seamless transition in T20Is post the retirements of legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli has been fuelled by a band of fearless batting guns and a captain who has embodied the aggressive brand of cricket as a capable leader on the field. Former India batter Mohammed Kaif has lavished praise on skipper Suryakumar Yadav, describing him as the most suitable replacement for Rohit as the skipper of the Men in Blue in the shortest format.
While Rohit called it quits with a superb captaincy record and the World Cup title in Barbados last year, Suryakumar too has had a brilliant start to his captaincy stint for India. Since taking over as full-time captain, Suryakumar has led India in 23 matches, winning 19 of them.
Kaif praised Suryakumar for his mature handling of the situation in the Pakistan game, which was embroiled in controversy after the Mumbaikar refused to shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart, Salmam Agha, at the toss.
Thumbs up for captaincy
“With the bat, he produced the winning hit, went unbeaten, and the way he replied to the media, talked about the things that show he has the ability as a skipper. The things that need to be taken care of on the day. Such a big game between India and Pakistan, and he turned out to be a true leader fairly. So, I do not doubt in my mind that he is a proper replacement for Rohit Sharma as skipper. The way he smiles while talking, his bat always does the talking,” Kaif said in an Instagram reel.
Kaif also lauded Suryakumar’s adept usage of all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Abhishek Sharma in the Pakistan match that India won comfortably to storm into the Super 4s.
“Captaincy is brilliant. Hardik Pandya is bowling with the new ball; Abhishek Sharma is also bowling one or two overs in the middle. He’s managed things rightly. As captain, he has led in 24 matches and won 20 [actually 19 matches, excluding a tie] games. I do not doubt that he is on the way to becoming a great leader,” he added.
India will take on Oman in Abu Dhabi on Friday evening before opening their Super 4 campaign against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday.
