Suryakumar’s current T20I batting an antithesis of his former self

You end up watching highlights from another time to rekindle some old memories. Perhaps, you also start to feel those bygone days were so much better. Now, Suryakumar Yadav doesn’t belong to a bygone, ancient era. In fact, he is the present captain of the Indian T20I side. But while watching his recent struggles with the bat, one can’t help but look back at some of those old highlights packages on YouTube and reminisce about those memories.

One of his batting masterclasses that still echoes in the mind is his superlative ton against England at Trent Bridge. The nonchalant wristy square drives, cheeky sweeps and lofted shots full of panache are remembered with a vivid brush. But those blazing knocks are now confined to history’s pages. The present version of Suryakumar is an antithesis to the willow master that we witnessed at Trent Bridge. 

In his last 8 T20Is, Suryakumar has accumulated a mere 52 runs. Ever since he took over the mantle of leading the side, Suryakumar is averaging 19.69 over 14 matches. In those previous 8 matches, his strike-rate too has plummeted to just 101.96. 

So, what has gone wrong for the 360-degree batter? Perhaps the bowlers are executing their plans better? Suryakumar has certainly found it difficult to score runs against an England pace attack that is predominantly known for bowling hard lengths. The lines from the England pace bowlers too have been mostly on the money – zooming in on an off-stump line with Suryakumar not getting the opportunity to free his arms. The simple truth is that, in modern times, it doesn’t take long to study a player’s strengths and weaknesses. 

Suryakumar will also be 35 this year. With age, a batter’s reflexes slow down. In general, his/her body does. In a hypothetical sense, the  brain might send a signal – take a stride forward. But the body moves a fraction late, and in a professional sport, that could be enough to put the batter in some trouble. 

Many years ago, Martin Crowe had said this about Sachin Tendulkar’s struggles: “Firstly, the back and hamstrings are probably 10% less flexible, and his agility and speed down about that much too,” he was quoted as saying by Cricinfo. “Therefore, while the eyes see the ball and the instinctive mind makes the right decision upon seeing it, Tendulkar will naturally find that he is not as quick as before. In particular, it is against fast bowling that his feet and body will find it increasingly hard to move quickly enough into position.”

The Indian think-tank, however, would trust their skipper to rediscover his mojo. Interestingly, Suryakumar’s bad patch is juxtaposed by his fine leadership skills. It is imperative, though, that he returns to form, as one of the prerequisites of a good captain is leading from the front with either the bat or ball in hand. 

There was a time when watching Suryakumar wield the willow in T20 cricket required a willing suspension of disbelief, something that made you remember Rajinikanth’s movies. The willow wizard has looked a pale shadow of that former self in the recent past.