"He has had an average of 12 in the T20Is he has played this year" - Aakash Chopra on star batter's form ahead of IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 final

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned whether Suryakumar Yadav's indifferent form should be a cause for concern ahead of the Men in Blue's Asia Cup 2025 final clash against Pakistan. He highlighted that the Indian captain averages nearly 12 in T20Is this year.

Suryakumar scored 12 runs off 13 deliveries as India set Sri Lanka a 203-run target in the final Super Four game of the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai on Friday, September 26. The Men in Blue won the match in a Super Over after the main game ended in a tie.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that Suryakumar has neither been consistent nor explosive in T20Is this year.

"Suryakumar Yadav's form - is that a concern? It's a big question for sure, and we haven't got the answer to that question thus far because he has had an average of 12 in the T20Is he has played this year, and his strike rate has been just slightly over 100," he said (2:15).

Chopra pointed out that the unconventional batter hasn't enjoyed much success with the bat in Dubai.

"The situation was the same even in the game against Sri Lanka. The problem is that his numbers in Dubai are not good. Whether you talk about the IPL that was played there or his performances against the top nations, the numbers in Dubai have not been that good," he observed.

However, Aakash Chopra noted that the only positive is that Suryakumar Yadav's solitary good knock in the Asia Cup 2025 came against Pakistan. The Indian skipper had scored an unbeaten 47 off 37 deliveries in their seven-wicket Group A win against the Men in Green.

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"Suryakumar Yadav has slight problems on slow pitches" - Aakash Chopra on the reasons behind SKY's underwhelming Asia Cup 2025 numbers

Suryakumar Yadav has aggregated 71 runs at a strike rate of 107.57 in five innings in the Asia Cup 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra attributed Suryakumar Yadav's indifferent returns in the Asia Cup 2025 to the slightly slow pitches in Dubai.

"The question is, why was the IPL good? The pitches being made now in Dubai are slightly slow, and Suryakumar Yadav has slight problems on slow pitches. The ball doesn't come nicely onto the bat, many shots need to be manufactured, and power needs to be generated," he said.

While highlighting that the Mumbai Indians (MI) batter enjoyed great success in IPL 2025 due to the batting-friendly pitches, especially at the Wankhede Stadium, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that captaincy pressure could also be contributing to his below-par performances at the international level.

"When he plays for Mumbai in the IPL, he doesn't have those many difficulties as the Wankhede pitch is very good, the ball comes nicely onto the bat, and the bounce is good. It could also be that he wasn't the captain when he was playing for Mumbai, but he is the captain here. There is captaincy pressure because nuns haven't been scored on both sides of the IPL," Chopra elaborated.

Aakash Chopra acknowledged that he wasn't worried about Suryakumar Yadav's form a game earlier. However, the analyst added that he would have to say it's a slight concern now.