‘His stance is good for T20 but…’ Sunil Gavaskar points out SKY’s technical issue following Vizag slump

India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has pointed out faults in Suryakumar Yadav’s batting technique following his successive failure against Mitchell Starc in the ODI series. Much like how he got out plumb in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium, Starc got Surya trapped in front in the same manner in Sunday’s game on a first-ball duck. Following Australia’s massive ten-wicket win over India in Vizag, Gavaskar suggested the struggling India batter should work on his stance and technique work with the batting coach.

The top-ranked T20I batter in the world, Suryakumar, failed to replicate his form in the extended white-ball format. With both Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant out due to injuries, India roped in Surya to fill the number four slot – only for him to face the wrath for the technical deficiency in his batting. As he couldn’t move his feet and bring the bat down in time to not allow the in-swinging delivery to trap him in front, Surya was left wondering what further could go wrong than to get out in the same manner on the first delivery in two straight matches.

Following his dismissal, he looked dejected, so were the fans and the commentators sitting inside.

Known to be among the most-technically sound batters in world cricket, Gavaskar pin-pointed where SKY is struggling in ODIs. Speaking to Star Sports after the ODI that saw India losing with 234 balls remaining, Gavaskar said Suryakumar’s stance is an open one – which could work well in T20s but not in ODIs. The batting great added Surya must work on that and minor technical difficulties he is facing with the batting coach and try and improve it before it gets late for him.

“He (Suryakumar) is facing technical difficulties. Also, his stance is an open one. It is good for T20 cricket because any delivery that is overpitched, he can flick it for a six. But here, when the ball is placed right near the foot, with this stance, the bat will definitely come across. It cannot come straight. Hence, if the ball turns inside, he will face difficulty. He needs to spend time with the batting coach on how to come out of this,” Gavaskar said.

Meanwhile, not only Suryakumar, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli also struggled with the incoming deliveries in Vizag on Sunday as they both got trapped right in front of the wickets.

As the three-match ODI series is tied at 1-1 as things stand, the final One-Dayer in Chennai on March 22nd will play as the decider.