IND vs SA: Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman are going nowhere, confirms India's assistant coach

India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said management needs to back quality players and leaders like Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill.

Indian Cricket Team’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has shown trust in Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill amid their batting struggles in the ongoing T20I series against the South Africa Cricket Team. He also believes that their poor form is not a concern and that they will regain their batting strength soon.

In the second T20I against the Proteas on Thursday (December 11) in New Chandigarh, Suryakumar and Gill completely failed to make a mark with the bat. As India were given a gigantic target of 214 runs, Gill was gone for a duck in the first over and Suryakumar lost his wicket for just five runs in the fourth over. Losing crucial batters at the start, the hosts lost the plot and eventually lost the game by 51 runs.

The duo also struggled to come up with good batting performances in the opening game in Cuttack, where Gill got out for four runs and Surya could only score 12 runs. However, Hardik Pandya saved the day with his brilliant half-century to help the team win the encounter by 101 runs.

I have absolute faith in both of them coming good at the right time: India’s assistant coach on Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill

After India’s defeat in the second T20I against South Africa, Doeschate defended Gill and Suryakumar over their ongoing batting woes in the post-match press conference. Backing Gill, he noted that the Cuttack wicket was challenging for batters, and Lungi Ngidi bowled a brilliant delivery to dismiss him in the second clash. He also cited examples of Gill’s marvellous record in Indian Premier League (IPL) to defend him.

“Shubman, I saw some good signs of a change in mentality on the back end of that Australian tour. I wouldn’t read too much into these two dismissals in this series. In the first game, we asked the guys to go out there and attack the powerplay, and it wasn’t a great wicket at Cuttack, so I’ll let him off for that one. Today, I thought he got a good ball that can happen when you’re short on form,” he said.

“But we also know his class. You look at his IPL record, he stacks up 700–800 runs. We believe in his class, and we believe he will come good. It’s exactly the same with Suryakumar. As you mentioned about the leadership roles, we’re quite far down the road now with our planning and how we’ve set the team up,” he added.

He believes that management should back quality leaders and players like them and trusts the duo to make a comeback in the upcoming campaigns.

“Personally, I think you back quality players and quality leaders like that, and they will come good. I understand that from the outside it looks like a concern, but I have absolute faith in both of them coming good at the right time for us,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gill has struggled to score a single half-century since his return to the shortest format this year ahead of Asia Cup 2025. On the other hand, Suryakumar has failed to score consistently in recent times. The five-match T20I series between India and South Africa is levelled 1-1, with the next game scheduled to be played in Dharamsala on December 14.

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