“You yourself, as captain, have not scored runs” - Sunil Gavaskar slams Suryakumar Yadav for too many changes in batting order

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has opened up on too many changes in the Indian batting order in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 campaign. Notably, skipper Suryakumar Yadav demoted himself to the No.4 spot with Shivam Dube being promoted to the No.3 spot against Bangladesh in the Super Four clash on Wednesday, September 24.

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Speaking exclusively to India Today, Gavaskar has asserted that the Indian batting order needs rhythm, and too many changes to the order might break or affect the rhythm moving forward in the competition. Moreover, he also didn’t like the decision to send finisher Dube at No.3.

“Sometimes, when you are looking to give batters some practice, you tend to change your batting order just that little bit. I don’t think there should be too much change. That can affect the team’s rhythm. The batting order also needs rhythm,” he told India Today.

“Occasionally, you can push somebody up, looking at the circumstances. But to push a finisher like Dube at No. 3 was a little difficult. That is one area where India faltered a little bit,” he added.

Moreover, Gavaskar lambasted the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who hasn’t scored enough runs of late, and additionally, he slammed him for getting out in a similar fashion despite it being a productive shot for him.

“You yourself, as captain, have not scored runs in the previous game. It is important for the captain to come in and get a few runs. He came at No. 4 and got out looking to play the same shot [as in the previous game]. That’s a very productive shot for him, but when you are getting out to it, maybe you should not play it until you have really gotten a feel for the surface,” Gavaskar concluded.

While Suryakumar Yadav has a batting average of 43.4 in 61 T20Is as a non-captain, his average came down to 26.82 in 27 T20Is as a captain.

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