T20 World Cup 2022: “He is earning the rewards for the hard work that he has put in” - Rahul Dravid hails consistent Suryakumar Yadav

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has opined that in-form batter Suryakumar Yadav is reaping the rewards for all the hard work that he has put in over the years, both on and off the cricket field. Terming his consistency in T20Is as “incredible”, he added that it explains why he is the No.1-ranked T20I batter at present.

Suryakumar was named the Player of the Match for his 61* off 25 balls as India thumped Zimbabwe by 71 runs in the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday, November 6. The 32-year-old has hammered 225 runs in five matches at an average of 75 and a strike rate of 193.97.

The batter’s heroics ensured Team India topped the points table in Group 2, winning their fourth game in the Super 12 round. At the post-match conference, Dravid was asked for his thoughts on Suryakumar’s consistency. He said:

“Touchwood. It’s incredible. That is why he is the number one T20 player in the world at the moment, because of that consistency in the format. Scoring at the strike rate that he does, it is not easy to be consistent. It is just fantastic the way he is playing. I think he is very clear in his processes, in his tactics."

Attributing his exceptional success in recent times to all the toil that he has put in over the last few years, Dravid added:

“He has worked very hard. One of the things about Surya is just the amount of hard work that he has put in during the nets - in thinking about his game, his fitness. If I look at Surya from a couple of years ago, just to see how he takes care of his body and the amount of time he spends on his fitness..."

"He is earning the rewards for a lot of the hard work that he has put in on and off the field. And long may it continue. He has been absolutely phenomenal for us and it is just a joy to watch.”

During his knock against Zimbabwe, Suryakumar also became the first Indian player to score 1,000 T20I runs in a calendar year.

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“He’s had good games as well” - Rahul Dravid backs Axar Patel despite poor returns

While Suryakumar has had a fantastic run, left-arm spinner Axar Patel has struggled to make an impact. He went for 21 runs in the only over he bowled against Pakistan and conceded 40 runs in 3.2 overs against Zimbabwe.

Asked if Axar’s form is a cause for concern, the Indian coach backed the bowler and replied:

“He’s had good games as well. Again, that’s the nature of this tournament. The nature of this format is such that you can get taken apart, especially on a day like today. They (Zimbabwe) lost lot of wickets; they had nothing to lose. They could go after him. He has bowled well as well. He took a few wickets in a couple of games. I thought he bowled a very good over against Bangladesh, just before the rain break.

“Not necessarily concerned. Yes, he would have liked to have had a better day, but he’s been someone who’s bowled really well for us over a period of time.”

Axar claimed 2/18 in Team India’s win over the Netherlands, but hasn’t done much with the ball apart from that. With the bat, he has registered scores of two, seven, and 0*.