"We can’t rely on Abhishek Sharma": Suryakumar Yadav’s bold statement after India’s loss in 2nd T20I

India National Cricket Team skipper Suryakumar Yadav took the blame on himself after his team's loss in the second T20I of the five-match series against the South Africa National Cricket Team.

Suryakumar Yadav openly said that they cannot always depend on the explosive left-handed opening batsman Abhishek Sharma to steer India to wins with his brilliant knocks at the top of the order.

I mean, we bowled first and there was not enough we could do - Suryakumar Yadav

India won the toss and opted to bowl first in the match. They did a very poor job with the premier pacers - Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah - struggling, and South Africa piled up a huge score of 213/4.

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Chasing the target, Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar, and Hardik Pandya failed, and despite Tilak Varma's batting brilliance, India were folded for 162 in 19.1 overs.

During the post-match presentation ceremony, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav stated that they couldn't do a good job with the ball. He said:

"Think should have batted then. I mean, we bowled first and there was not enough we could do. We could have just come back nicely because we bowled first and then later on they realized how the lengths are important on this wicket."

I think myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start - Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav added that they are taking learnings from the losses and trying to move in the right direction. He stated:

"But yeah, it's a learning process. Just learn and move forward. A little bit of dew as well and also if it wasn't working, we should have had a second plan, but we didn't go to that. But it's okay. As I said, it's a learning process. We learned how they bowled in the second innings. We learned from that and then we try and execute in the next game."

Suryakumar further blamed himself and Shubman Gill for the team's failure in the batting department. He stated:

"I think myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can't rely on Abhishek all the time. The way he's been batting, he might have an off-day. Me, Shubman and few other batters should have taken it. I think it would have been a smart chase."

Shubman got out on the first ball - Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav also said that he should have taken the responsibility after Shubman Gill's dismissal for a duck. He stated:

"But then it's okay, Shubman got out on the first ball. But yeah, I should have taken that responsibility, batted a little deeper."

Suryakumar also revealed the reason behind the promotion of Axar Patel at the No.3 spot. He stated:

"But yeah, as I said, we learn, we try and do better in the next game to come. We just thought in the last game, we have seen Axar bat really well in the longer format. And we wanted him to bat back the same way today as well. Unfortunately (it didn’t work), but he did bat well. But we will see what's up for us going on in the next game."

Also Read: Jitesh Sharma survives FREAK moment as ball hits bail but it doesn’t fall in IND vs SA 2nd T20I