"You wouldn't say he's an organised player when he comes to the crease" - Shaun Tait on Suryakumar Yadav
Former Australian speedster Shaun Tait has weighed in on Suryakumar Yadav's recent struggles in international cricket and the IPL. Tait feels that although Suryakumar might have scored a truckload of runs, he is not an organized cricketer like Virat Kohli.
Suryakumar has struggled for form in the last few matches and his confidence seems to have taken a hit after a terrible ODI series against Australia when he registered three successive golden ducks. The 32-year-old has also started slowly in IPL 2023, managing just 16 runs in two innings, including a single against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.
Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo's Timeout, the 40-year-old opined that Suryakumar is a world-class player, but that the right-hander can be reckless at times.
"If you look at someone like Glenn Maxwell. Through his career, he's had that sort of times as well where he's had unbelievable purple patches and maybe a slump. Obviously he's going to be highly criticised. Because of the way he plays as well, Surya, he's got all those shots, and you can say he's sometimes reckless."
"Obviously he's an unbelievable player but you wouldn't say he's an organised player when he comes to the crease. Someone like a Virat Kohli, right, he's an organised player. That's his game. Surya can change things around innings to innings. But because he's so flash and so great to watch and entertaining, maybe the recklessness can fall the other way."
The Mumbai-born batter has had an unbelievable 12-18 months, scoring heaps of runs in T20I cricket worldwide. He accumulated three T20I centuries, one at home and two others in England and New Zealand to become the No. 1-ranked batter in the format.
"The way he thinks about the game is a little bit different" - Shaun Tait
Tait hopes to see Suryakumar return to his old touch again and acknowledges that sometimes the fall can be harder for such unorthodox players. The South Australian added:
"The other thing that comes in as well, maybe the hype and the great run he's had maybe he's come down a couple of rungs. Hopefully he can get back up there. He's like Maxwell. The way he thinks about the game is a little bit different and so the fall can be a little bit harder for those sort of players."
Mumbai Indians suffered their second loss in IPL 2023 as the Super Kings beat them by seven wickets.