Why India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill losing form, is the start of a blunt headache

The hosts will be hoping to imbibe some of the mindful calm of the hillside as Indian cricket’s palace of intrigue has raged in the background, and at times in the foreground, of this tour. The 0-2 humiliation in the Test series was damning in its indictment of India’s red-ball capabilities. And the ODI series win was an announcement, of both form and intent, from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, whose futures had been widely speculated.

The T20s were supposed to provide a welcome reprieve, being India’s best format in recent times and with preparations for their defence of the World Cup at home set to click into full gear. But the Surya-Shubman double bogey is beginning to cause a blunt headache.

Mullanpur a good opportunity for the leaders to stand up, with India chasing a tricky 200+ score on a surface where dew may have made batting second easier. But Gill was sent back for a golden duck; Suryakumar Yadav only lasted four balls. Both nicked excellent deliveries: Gill with an evasive defensive prod to second slip, Suryakumar with a wild swing of the bat to the keeper.

The poor returns only worsened their form. In the last 12 months, from 19 matches, on either side of a very productive IPL, skipper Suryakumar has scored just 201 runs at an average of 14.35 and a strike rate of 126.41. His deputy only managed slightly better. Gill has scored 263 runs in 14 matches, averaging 23.9 and striking at 142.93. Put together, they have not notched a 50+ score in over a year.

Gill in precarious spot

Of the two, despite faring better, it is Gill who needs more desperately to prove himself. Suryakumar’s form is unquestionably burdening India, but with just eight more matches left to the T20 World Cup in February, jettisoning a popular captain out of the team is very unlikely.

Gill, however, is not irreplaceable. A year ago, he was not even looking like he would be in the scheme of things. Stepping into big shoes as India’s Test captain in England and returning with a 2-2 series draw result, and the player of the series award, confirmed his rapid ascendancy to the top of Indian cricket. He was made India’s ODI captain too, and drafted into the T20 setup ahead of the Asia Cup as both vice-captain and opener based on his IPL form, but it was far more likely due to the exploits in England.

What seemed like a prudent call then may well have disrupted a winning combination. India had been on a tear in the shortest format, winning 11 of their 14 matches between the Asia Cup and the World Cup triumph, with Sanju Samson opening.

Gill’s insertion and Sanju’s deletion from the XI have, to an extent, changed the dynamic. For Gill, to be playing as much cricket as he is and to be adapting to different formats has been a struggle recently, as seen with a scary-looking neck injury in the first Test against South Africa and his drop off in the T20s. In fact, the all-format batter seems to be a concept from a different era altogether. Australia’s Travis Head and England’s Harry Brook are examples, but have been made to prioritise Tests very often. Proteas skipper Aiden Markram is around, but even his returns have diminished in the shortest format.

Matters are made trickier for Gill with both Suryakumar and coach Gautam Gambhir instilling an attacking intent in their team that banks on their deep batting lineup full of all-rounders. Gill’s Test-match temperament and technique have taken on a more refined quality recently, and it does transfer to some easy run-scoring in the opening powerplay. But recently, it has seemed like he is trying too hard to attack, betraying an unnatural instinct. His dismissal in Cuttack, a half-hearted, woefully mistimed charge down the track that went straight to the fielder at mid-off, was evidence of that.

With Suryakumar still lagging, India will seek an upturn in form from at least one of their present top three before it starts to look stubbornly unwise in selecting them. While India assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate backed both of them to come good by the World Cup, he did shoot off, saying: “We found ourselves being down to 35/3 more times than we would have liked in the last couple of months,” he said after the defeat in Mullanpur.

There are eight more games for that to change. But every time it doesn’t, the pressure to react only rises.