"We allow for a bit of inconsistency" - Team India's assistant coach backs captain Suryakumar Yadav amid his lead run in IND vs ENG 2025 T20Is

Team India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate played down skipper Suryakumar Yadav's lean run with the bat in T20Is. He opined that there is some allowance for inconsistency in the T20 format given the rapid pace at which batters are expected to score.

India are 2-1 up in the five-match T20I series against England. However, skipper Suryakumar has been disappointing with the willow in hand. In three matches, he has registered scores of 0, 12 and 14. In the preceding T20I series in South Africa as well, he had a highest score of 21 from three innings.

The Indian captain will be keen to get back among the runs when the Men in Blue take on England in the fourth T20I at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday, January 31. Speaking on the eve of the game, India's assistant coach Ryan threw his weight behind Suryakumar and said (as quoted by ANI):

"No, I think someone like Surya has such high standards. He sets such high standards by himself, but I wouldn't say that consistency or predictability is a particularly high mark in T20 cricket, particularly the job we ask these guys to do, to go out on the score quickly.

"The way the international T20 game has gone, we allow for a bit of inconsistency and a bit of a lean patch like it's going through at the moment, but I always look at how guys are training, how guys are playing in the nets," the former Netherlands cricketer went on to add.

Suryakumar made his T20I debut against England in March 2021 and made an instant impact. He has gone on to establish himself as one of the most destructive batters in T20s, but his numbers have fallen steadily since taking over as captain.

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"He's a couple of shots away from being back on track" - Ryan ten Doeschate on Suryakumar Yadav

While Suryakumar has failed to get a big score in the three T20Is played against England so far, he did playing a couple of dazzling strokes in the previous match in Rajkot. Referring to the same, Ryan asserted that there are no concerns over the skipper's form since he has been timing the ball well. He said:

"I thought he played two lovely shots the other night, which certainly made me think it's back, one on the leg side and one on the offside, so I don't think he's far away. I know as the captain of the team, one thing, but just in general, Gauti (head coach Gautam Gambhir) is very keen to back these guys and give them a long road, a long chance to prove themselves.

"He's been one of the best batters in the world, let alone this Indian team, so certainly not concerned about him, and we feel like he's a couple of shots away from being back on track and back in form," Ryan concluded.

Suryakumar has far featured in 81 T20Is and has scored 2,596 runs at an average of 39.33 and a strike rate of 167.70, with four hundreds and 21 half-centuries.