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Ajinkya Rahane emphasises runs over leadership duties for Suryakumar Yadav post-injury in Asia Cup: 'Didn't have good…'
Rahane praised SKY's resilience, noting his recovery from a poor England series to shine in the IPL, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer.
Veteran Test batter Ajinkya Rahane asserted that more than the captaincy, it will be the batting where Suryakumar Yadav needs to play a big role in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. It will be the first time Surya will be leading the Indian team in a multi-nation event, with attention on him heightened as the event serves as a preparation for next year’s T20 World Cup. Surya has been the standout batter for India in the shortest format for the past few years. However, he had a forgettable series when India last played T20Is. The stylish batter scored just 28 runs in 5 T20Is, which included a couple of ducks, which put him under the scanner.
Meanwhile, he bounced back with an outstanding IPL campaign, featuring as a specialist batter and scoring 717 runs—the highest tally of his 13-year IPL career to date. The 34-year-old showed great consistency throughout the season by breaching the 25-run mark in every match.
Rahane praised SKY's resilience, noting his recovery from a poor England series to shine in the IPL with five fifties, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer. The Test veteran highlighted Surya’s prowess in the format and expressed curiosity about how he will perform following his recent surgery.
"Didn't have a good series against England, but came back to form in IPL with five fifties and finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with a healthy strike rate. We all know Surya is a dangerous batter. In this format, he has done really well. But it will be interesting to see how he goes about his batting, especially after the surgery," Rahane said on his YouTube channel.
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“SKY is a proactive captain, but…”
Suryakumar has compiled an impressive T20I captaincy record since taking over the leadership role. In 23 matches as captain, he has guided India to 18 victories against just 4 defeats and 1 tie, achieving an outstanding win percentage of 78.26 per cent.
Rahane lauded Suryakumar's captaincy, calling him proactive and effective, while emphasizing that his batting will play a crucial role for India in the Asia Cup.
"As a captain, he has been fantastic. He is a proactive captain, led the team really well in the past, but I feel, in this Asia Cup, his batting will be really important," he added.
