“It’s only a matter of 10 balls” - Piyush Chawla backs struggling Suryakumar Yadav to regain form 

Mumbai Indians (MI) leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has thrown his weight behind out-of-form batter Suryakumar Yadav, asserting that he needs only 10 balls to get back to form. He also stated that the batter’s form is not a concern for the team.

Suryakumar has been going through a wretched run with the bat over the last few weeks. After a forgettable Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, he registered three consecutive golden ducks in the ODI series against the Aussies.

His poor form has continued in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 as well. In three matches for the Mumbai Indians, he has registered scores of 15, one, and 0. He was dismissed for a golden duck in the game against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday, April 11.

Speaking at a post-match conference, though, Chawla backed his teammate and commented:

“Surya’s form was never a concern. It takes only 10 balls to make a comeback in this format, you hit four fours and you are back in form. He got out on the first ball, but that happens, the situation was such. That could have been a four or a six too so this happens.

“The kind of batter Surya is, he’s high on confidence and it’s only a matter of 10 balls, he’ll be back to his form.”

Mumbai were chasing 173 against Delhi on Tuesday. Suryakumar came into bat after the fall of Tilak Varma’s wicket. However, his stay lasted just one ball as he guided a short delivery from Mukesh Kumar to the fielder at fine-leg.

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“Whatever game I play, I put my more than 100%” - Piyush Chawla

Speaking about Chawla’s performance, the veteran leg-spinner stood out with figures of 3/22 against DC. Intriguingly, he went unsold last season and was commentating on the IPL.

On his preparations for IPL 2023, the 34-year-old said that playing Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali has helped him. He added:

“I’m not playing much of cricket like domestic or competitive cricket but I make sure whatever game I play, I put my more than 100% and body on the line. I make sure I am bowling with my full potential.

Chawla also stated that he doesn’t watch much cricket because he believes more in working on his own game and getting better at it. He said:

“If you talk about watching cricket then I don’t watch much cricket to be very honest. I feel if you bowl a good ball it’s a good ball in any format and for any batter so I just prepare myself and strengthen myself.”

Chawla is sixth on the list of all-time leading wicket-takers in the IPL. In 168 matches, he has claimed 161 wickets at an average of 27.22 and an economy rate of 7.86.