New Delhi. The caravan of T20 World Cup has reached its second round i.e. Super-8. The defending champion Indian team continued its unbeaten campaign by showing brilliant performance in the group stage and entered the Super-8. Now Team India’s eyes will be on securing a place in the top-4. India’s first clash in the Super-8 is with South Africa. This match will be played on 22 February at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Before this, captain Suryakumar Yadav held a press conference and answered many questions related to the team. Let us tell you 10 big things about this press conference of Surya.
Question: Till now the pitches have been a bit difficult. Are you expecting a different kind of wicket in Super 8 or are you ready for any kind of wicket?
Answer: Suryakumar Yadav said, ‘I think we are ready for any kind of wicket. If you see from the first match, we have played on different types of wickets. When we started our campaign from Wankhede and till the last league match, the wickets were not very challenging but were definitely a little tricky. In the end, we have played so much cricket that we understand how to bat after the powerplay and then how to finish the match.
Question: The ‘bomb’ of Indian batting has not exploded yet. Depending on your ability… are you ready to explode in Super 8?
Answer: Surya said on this, ‘We are trying to explode from the beginning. Every player knows his game and his T20 template. But we don’t want to be a team that just keeps hitting. Many times it happens that two-three wickets fall quickly. In such a situation, we have to bat well between 7 to 15 overs like a smart team. Then we have so much firepower that we can score 60-70 runs in the last 5 overs. Such situations have arisen till now. When we get a good start, we play with the same template, but in tricky situations we have to respect the game and play as per the needs of the team.
Question: The team is doing great so far, Surya is also shining. But what is the captain’s biggest concern?
Answer: Suryakumar Yadav said, ‘No worries.’
Question: Are you worried about Abhishek’s form? Especially against off spinners?
Answer: The Indian captain said, ‘I am worried about those who are worried about Abhishek’s form. Why are they so worried? I am worried about the teams that will play against him. He has not scored runs yet, but when he scores runs you know what happens. It’s a team game, it keeps going. Last year he covered us, now we will cover him.
Question: Here in the second innings, the ball swings in the first two overs, is it so?
Answer: Suryakumar Yadav said, ‘This has always been happening. Even in the first innings, the new ball helps the fast bowlers in the powerplay and it remains the same in the second innings as well. The situation is almost the same in both the innings. There is no special advantage in this.
Question: Almost all the teams are bringing right arm off spinners against you. Is the batting lineup of six left-handers making us predictable?
Answer: Suryakumar Yadav said, ‘There is no rough patch in the first over in T20. Whether it is an off-spinner or a left arm spinner, we have played a lot of cricket. Left and right, all the players are used to playing against all types of bowlers. Even in franchise and domestic cricket, we face different spinners. If the team needs to score runs then we will score runs against the off spinners also. We have won four matches so far, the off-spinners have bowled, there have been some ups and downs but we have been trying to get out of the situation.
Question: Can Sanju get a chance in the playing eleven, especially at number 3?
Answer: Surya gave this answer laughing. He said, ‘You want to say that I should feed him instead of Abhishek? Or instead of tilak? We are scoring 40-50 runs in the powerplay, which is normal cricket. We have played very well in the bilateral series, so the expectations are high to score 220-250. But the wickets here have been different and challenging. Off-spinners are coming more now, so we have started preparing accordingly.
Question: There is difficulty in changing gears in Tilak’s batting, is the rustiness after surgery the reason?
Answer: Suryakumar said, ‘It is not so. I and the team management have clearly told him that he has to bat according to the conditions. If one wicket falls, he can play his game, but if two wickets fall, a partnership has to be formed and the match has to be managed till the 10th over. He himself may not be completely happy with his batting, but I am not worried about that. He has performed brilliantly for India at number 3 and will do so in future also.
Question: There is talk of a lot of flexibility in the team from numbers 3 to 7, has this been discussed?
Answer: Suryakumar Yadav said, ‘Absolutely. Except the openers, everyone from 3 to 7 or 8 has to be flexible. If wickets do not fall till 8-9 overs then you can also see Shivam Dubey or Hardik coming in early, depending on the match-up. I myself have said that I am flexible. Decisions will be taken according to the situation of the team. Can the spinners give India an edge against South Africa? Suryakumar Yadav, ‘Our spinners have performed brilliantly so far. But every match is new, it starts from zero. If the planning and execution is right then we can get an edge.
Question: There is more pressure in the Home World Cup, how do you deal with it?
Answer: The captain said, ‘It is difficult to say that there is no pressure. There is definitely pressure when playing a big tournament at home. In the hotel, during the trip, everyone says that we have to win the World Cup. But every player has his own way of dealing with pressure. We’re trying to keep things simple and stay in the present. The match against the US gave us a wake-up call. Now we are focusing on each match. There is pressure, but without pressure there is no fun in the game.
Question: How important will the toss and dew be?
Answer: Surya said regarding the toss that it has now become overrated. He said, ‘I think the toss has become a bit overrated now. In this tournament, many teams are batting first after winning the toss. We have also batted first in all four matches and lost three tosses. If you play well in the first innings, you can defend even after dew, provided you have confidence in your bowling. I don’t think the toss will make much difference.