Suryakumar Yadav has struggled to score runs since the ODI series against Australia but veteran Mumbai Indians leg-spinner Piyush Chawla says the star batsman’s form is not a concern for his IPL team.
Suryakumar could not open the account in all three ODIs against Australia and he is struggling to score runs in the Indian Premier League as well. He has so far managed to score only 16 runs in the first three matches in the IPL.
He returned to the pavilion on the first ball during Mumbai’s six-wicket win against Delhi Capitals here on Tuesday. Chawla said in the press conference after the match, “Suryakumar’s form has never been a matter of concern. It takes just 10 balls to get into form in this format, where you hit four fours in 10 balls and you get into the groove. As (captain) Rohit (Sharma) mentioned, the pitch was not that easy to bat on.
Chawla said, “We also felt that 170 runs on this wicket is as good as 190 runs. But the way Rohit and Ishan (Kishan) batted, they got us off to a great start. It was important to take advantage of the new ball on this pitch. He got off to a good start adding 70 runs in six overs which provided the momentum. Despite 70 runs in six overs, the match was drawn till the last ball, so you can guess that the pitch was not easy to bat on.
Chawla showed his wrist magic in this match and took three important wickets for 22 runs. He said that the leg-spinner provides wicket-taking options in the shortest format of the game.
Talking about leg-spinners continuing to impress in the T20 format, Chawla said, “When it comes to T20 cricket in the last few years, 160-170 was considered a good score at one point of time but it is not the case nowadays. If the pitch is helping then 170 is a good score, otherwise you need a score of around 190 runs. Overall, every bowler is giving away runs but leg-spinners give you the option of taking wickets and you can bowl to them anytime.
He said, “Captains do not give a lot of chances to leg spinners in the power play but I have done that as well. In this format, if you want to stop runs, then you have to take wickets, which is the option leg spinner gives you, otherwise in this format, we have seen that even at 14-15 runs per over, the target is achieved. That’s why maybe the team prefers to give chances to wicket-taking bowlers.
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