Before the start of the T20I series against South Africa, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav said that he has adopted the leadership style used by Rohit Sharma in his T20I captaincy career, especially in terms of handling young players. .
“I know how he (Rohit) treats the players, what he wants from them. That’s why I have followed that path because he has been very successful recently. When I am on the field, I keep seeing how calm his body language is in pressure situations, how he talks to the bowlers, how he treats everyone on and off the field,” Suryakumar told the pre-series presser. said at the conference.
“The most important thing is, what you expect from a leader is how much time he’s spending with you so he can relax. I try to replicate that. When I’m not on the ground, I try and spend time with my companions, eat with them, travel together.”
“It’s the little things that reflect on the ground. If you want to earn your teammate’s respect and if you want him to deliver on the ground, all those things are very important. I spiced mine up a little bit. Add like, and we’re going ahead,” he added.
Talking about how managing youngsters has been for him, Suryakumar commented that they come with the understanding of doing things well for their state teams and IPL franchises, which makes life easier for him in the leadership role. .
“If you have seen the last two-three series, they have made my job very easy. I have asked them to put the needs of the team in front and whatever call they make, we are here to support them. “
“Everybody knows what they have to do. The kind of cricket they play for their province, the franchise, is the same as they have to play here. Just the color of the jersey changes and the emotions go up. But the way ‘s cricket. They are playing, they should be playing, it is refreshing to see them playing.
Suryakumar also captained India when the three-match T20I series with South Africa was drawn 1-1 last year. Friday’s match at Kingsmead will mark the first time India and South Africa face each other in the format since the T20 World Cup final in June, where the visitors won by seven runs to end their long silverware drought.
“Playing against South Africa is always challenging, be it the T20 World Cup or any bilateral. Last time we were here, we had a good series. Hopefully, we will have a match (tomorrow); We missed the game here a few times but it’s always fun and challenging and both sides enjoy that great competition.
“We play on good bouncy pitches in India as well. There’s a lot of it, so it’s nothing new for us. We played here last year, so we know what the conditions are like and the ground for us. And what are the wickets. We have our game plan, we will take it back and are very excited for the series ahead,” Suryakumar concluded.
