Suryakumar’s Struggles Against Pakistan: A Potential Weakness?

Former Pakistani batter Bazid Khan has suggested that India might have an area of vulnerability that Pakistan could target during the forthcoming Asia Cup. According to Khan, Suryakumar Yadav has displayed an inability to perform effectively against Pakistan’s cricket team.

During a discussion on a television program, Bazid acknowledged Suryakumar’s proficiency at accumulating runs against numerous teams. However, he emphasized that the Indian batter has consistently encountered difficulties when facing Pakistan.

Bazid stated, “Suryakumar typically performs well against most opponents; however, he hasn’t been as effective against Pakistan. This issue persists, whether due to their pace attack or other factors.”

Yadav is set to captain India for the first time in a major international tournament. This adds pressure as he prepares to guide his team in critical matches, such as the highly anticipated India-Pakistan contest and potential knockout rounds in the Super Four stage and the final.

Despite his status as a dominant T20 batter in recent years, the 33-year-old has found it challenging to make a significant impact against Pakistan.

Across five T20I innings against them, he has only scored 64 runs, maintaining an average of 12.80 and a strike rate of 118.51, with his highest score being 18. He has not yet recorded a half-century or century against Pakistan.

His struggles have occurred in diverse conditions, including spin-friendly pitches in Dubai during the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2022 Asia Cup, as well as pace-friendly surfaces in Melbourne (2022 T20 World Cup) and New York (2024 T20 World Cup).

Specifically in the Asia Cup, Yadav’s statistics are only marginally better, with 31 runs from two innings at an average of 15.50 and a strike rate of 110.71.

Based on the statistics, Pakistan remains the only team against which Suryakumar has played more than five matches without achieving an average of 30 or higher. Even against England, where he averages 29.08, his strike rate remains remarkably high at 171.92.

The upcoming Asia Cup will mark India’s first T20I tournament since their home series against England in January. The tournament, featuring eight teams, will commence on September 9 with a match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

Group A includes rivals Pakistan and India, along with UAE and Oman. Group B consists of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.

India is scheduled to begin their campaign against UAE in Dubai on September 10, followed by their match against Pakistan on September 14, and conclude the group stage against Oman in Abu Dhabi on September 19.

India’s Squad for the Asia Cup:

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vc), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube , Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy , Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson

Reserve players:

Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal