Selectors to take a hard look at Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy

Suryakumar Yadav's stint as captain may have run its course. Diminishing returns with the bat since India's T20 World Cup triumph seem to be forcing the selectors to take a hard look at his leadership. Patience within the selection panel appears to be wearing thin, and there is growing belief that Ajit Agarkar and his colleagues may decide that it is time to move on.

It initially appeared that Suryakumar enjoyed the backing of the selectors, but his prolonged lean patch has seemingly made his continuation increasingly untenable. The sustained dip in form is forcing the selectors' hand, leaving them with little choice but to take a fresh look not only at the captaincy but also at his place in the side.

Suryakumar has also enjoyed the strong backing of coach Gautam Gambhir, and sources close to the head coach had been dismissing suggestions of a change in leadership for the tours of Ireland and England (June 20 to July 20), despite persistent speculation to the contrary. However, Suryakumar has done little to help his case, with a string of underwhelming returns in the IPL and even in local T20 competitions.

To state that he had a disappointing IPL season would be an understatement – 270 runs from 13 games – a far cry from last year, when he was Mumbai Indians' chief architect with the bat. Even in the successful T20 World Cup campaign, he had only one notable outing, against the USA.

The contrast with last season could not be starker. He amassed 717 runs, struck five half-centuries and smashed 38 sixes with an average of 65 and finished second in the run-scoring charts. This season, however, he managed only two fifties and returned an average of just about 20.77. Runs have become increasingly hard to come by for him – so much so that he even endured a failure in a local T20 league game the other day

It is being said that he has been nursing a wrist injury, one that is believed to have curtailed the 360-degree strokeplay that has been the strong feature of his illustrious T20 career. The fact that he managed only 10 sixes from 183 deliveries lends some credence to that theory, although he categorically denied carrying any injury in a recent interview with the official IPL broadcaster. Even in the local game, he could not manage a six – he scored 19 off 11 balls without a single six.

Although no official decision has been made, the move away from Suryakumar is understood to have come from the national selectors' weekly review meeting, which is held internally. Sources indicate that the five-member selection panel met virtually on Wednesday to assess various matters. The formal selection committee meeting, however, is expected to take place in Mumbai on June 6.

It is learnt that the selectors requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to convene a physical meeting during their last interaction in Guwahati on May 19. While the BCCI had not formally confirmed the date as of Thursday (June 4), sources indicate that the meeting is likely to be held on June 6, when Agarkar may even address the media.