CANBERRA: The leader in Suryakumar Yadav will now nudge the batter in him to take centrestage and start contributing handsomely with the willow when India take on Australia in the opening T20 International here on Wednesday.
It promises to be a battle on even keel, with both countries having won eight of their last 10 T20I games with one defeat each. While India had one tied game, Australia had one match washed out.
Although the captain’s prolonged lean patch remains a cause for concern, the Indian T20 team has been the best performing among the three national outfits, almost operating on autopilot with new players adapting to their roles seamlessly.
Since being appointed captain, Suryakumar’s record has been phenomenal in terms of results, securing 23 wins in 29 games so far while adhering to a new template of fearless cricket, where every batter goes all guns blazing from ball one.
This aggressive approach, combined with Surya’s leadership skills, has reaped rewards with an all-win bilateral series record and an Asia Cup triumph, albeit against some second-rung continental teams, including Pakistan, who are a few light years behind India in terms of skill, quality and execution.
The Australia series marks the beginning of India’s real preparation heading into the T20 World Cup early next year, with 15 games available to build momentum.
However, one can say that the result of this series will not have a major impact, as the next 10 games against South Africa and New Zealand will be in familiar conditions, similar to those expected in the T20 World Cup.
While head coach Gautam Gambhir has been unequivocal in his support for Surya and believes that he does not need to worry about his string of low scores, it is indeed time that the captain lets his bat do the talking.
In 2023, Surya batted in 18 innings, scoring 733 runs at a strike rate of nearly 156, which included two centuries and five half-centuries.
In 2024, he amassed a little less than 450 runs at a strike rate of 151. However, in 2025, the Indian skipper has managed only 100 runs from 10 innings at an average of 11.
What stands out as an anomaly is his strike rate of over 105, suggesting that while he has struggled for runs, he has not completely abandoned his attacking intent.
"I feel I have been working really hard. Not that I wasn't working hard before. I have had a good few sessions back home, good 2-3 sessions here, so I am in good space," the skipper said at the pre-series press conference at Manuka Oval.
The skipper again stressed the team goal. "Runs, it will come eventually but I'm working hard towards the team goal. It's more important what the team wants from you in different situations and I take one game at a time and if it starts then I think it will be a good thing."
For someone like Abhishek Sharma, who became the toast of the nation in the Asia Cup, tackling the extra bounce on Australian pitches will be a new challenge, and hence the skipper’s contribution becomes all the more important.
The problem for Surya has been his limited range of strokes and his tendency to play behind the square, using the pace and bounce of deliveries.
While the bounce at the Manuka Oval track gives him a chance to ride it and maximise returns, Josh Hazlewood’s presence and those Test match lengths on and around the off-stump corridor will pose problems.
It will not only be a new challenge for someone like Abhishek but also a familiar test for the Indian skipper, whose critics have often pointed out that he has not consistently scored against top teams in the past few years.
In terms of bowling attack, Jasprit Bumrah’s presence and Varun Chakravarthy’s guile will be key factors if Indian batters can post a decent score.
The 12 overs from Varun, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will be very important, alongside Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh’s opening spells against Travis Head and the dangerous Mitchell Marsh.
All eyes will also be on Mitchell Owen, Australia’s new T20 star who played a game for Punjab Kings last year.
Owen was terrific against India in a recent ODI in Adelaide, but the possibility of facing 12 overs of slow bowling will definitely test his hitting skills.
Teams:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott (games 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman (games 3-5), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (games 4-5), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (games 1-2), Glenn Maxwell (games 3-5), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis.
Match starts: 1:45 pm.
