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India will walk into Sunday’s Super Eight opener against South Africa in Ahmedabad with no panic, no late-night team meetings, and – if their captain is any guide – no sleepless nights over Abhishek Sharma’s three consecutive ducks.
“I worry for the people worried about Abhishek’s form,” Suryakumar Yadav laughed during a relaxed press conference. “Why are they so worried about Abhishek’s form? I think about those teams who are going to play against him. That he has not yet scored a run. When he scores, you have seen what happens.”
Three noughts in a row look ugly on paper, yet Suryakumar insists the opener’s attacking brief remains intact. “It happens [ducks]; it’s a team sport, it keeps going on. Now the team has a requirement that the ladka (guy) should play with his identity. So he is trying to play. If it happens, it’s fine, if it doesn’t, we are there to cover. Last year he covered for us, now we will cover for him.”
Predictable? Maybe, with six left-handers in the top eight. Exploitable? Opposition analysts think so, hence the stream of off-spinners India have faced. But any clamour to swap Abhishek for Sanju Samson was brushed aside.
“Should I play Sanju for Abhishek,” Suryakumar shot back, eyebrows arched. When a follow-up suggested Samson might slot in at No.3, the skipper widened his eyes theatrically: “You mean I should make him play for Tilak? It’s going well in the powerplay. We’re still making 40-50 runs.”
That tally, he argued, is acceptable on the slower World Cup surfaces. “That’s normal cricket. We have expectations from ourselves to score 220, 240, 250. But the wickets are a little different here.”
India’s four group games were all on testing pitches. “The four wickets we have played on so far were a little different and challenging. Offspinners were not bowling earlier but they are now. So we have started preparation for that and hopefully we will tackle it as we start our Super Eight journey.”
Tilak Varma, striking at 120.45, has also drawn scrutiny. Suryakumar laid out his mandate clearly. “I have told him, the team management has told him that he has to bat that way. If one wicket is down, then he can go and have his own game in the powerplay. But as soon as two wickets are down, then he has to take a little bit of backseat, get a partnership again, get to the 10th over and then we have enough firepower to continue and take on the bowling.”
Tilak’s own frustration is no secret, the captain added. “But yeah, definitely, I am sure he must not be happy with how he is batting right now. He must be and he has practiced a lot as well in the last two-three practice sessions. But I don’t have any concern regarding him. He has been delivering for India at No. 3 really well and I am very confident that he will do it better.”
Away from specifics, Suryakumar confronted the ever-present ‘Cup laana hai’ refrain in hotel lobbies. “See, it’s very difficult to say that there’s no pressure, or it’s easy to handle,” he admitted. “But yeah, when you’re playing such a big event on your home soil, you definitely feel pressure. It’s not that you can run away from it because you mee”
However imperfect that last sentiment sounded, it summed up India’s outlook: pressure accepted, plans unchanged, and faith unshaken in players who, only a year ago, were winning matches when others faltered.
