Ravichandran Ashwin defends Suryakumar Yadav’s indifferent form in Asia Cup 2025

Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has put his weight behind Suryakumar Yadav amid his poor form in the Asia Cup 2025. Barring scoring a match-winning 47 runs off 37 balls in the Group stage match against arch-rivals Pakistan, SKY hasn’t looked at his best in the continental tournament.

Yadav has managed 87 runs in the last nine T20I innings at a mundane average of 12.42 and a strike rate of 112.98. The Mumbai batter has scored 71 runs in five innings of the Asia Cup at an average of 23.66 and a strike rate of 107.57 and thus his T20I form hasn’t been the greatest.

“Regarding Suryakumar, people say his average dropped after captaincy. But with that, a new brand of cricket started. I don’t want him to be averaging 40. Always in T20 cricket we sink thinking about this average. Surya as a captain is playing a high-risk game which is extremely amazing. Rohit showed this, putting no price on his wicket, always committing to aggression. Surya’s following this, coming in at different slots, not always at three,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’.

“If Surya averages 25 but strikes at 170, I’m much happier with that than him doing 40 at a lower strike rate. Don’t get after him for this, don’t put pressure. T20 cricket needs impact, not average.”

Yadav has looked tentative at the crease and he would look to bounce back strongly. The 35-year-old has scored 2669 runs in 89 T20I matches at an impressive average of 37.59 and a strike rate of 164.66 and thus has all the experience under his belt.

India will take on the arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup final for the first time in 41 years at Dubai on Sunday.