Former Indian pace bowler Varun Aaron urged captain Suryakumar Yadav to play straight early in his innings in the 2025 Asia Cup final against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, September 28 as well. The Indian team have been in dominant form throughout the competition, winning all six of their games as well.
Talking about Suryakumar Yadav’s batting form, Aaron said on ESPNCricinfo: “He should change his tactics a little bit because he is a player who can play really well down the ground as well. So he should maybe switch it around and go straight down the ground and then go behind. We’ve seen even in the IPL that Surya prefers faster wickets compared to the slow wickets. He even prefers the faster bowlers than those that bowl slowed ones.”
“He sets up in a way where he can use the pace and his wrists to carve you through the offside. And the moment he starts hitting you behind the wicket, as a bowler you almost get sucked into his plan and then he dictates what you are doing. But he hasn’t been able to dictate in this tournament,” he again shared.
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Meanwhile, former Indian batter Aakash Chopra believes the in-form Abhishek Sharma will try to dominate Pakistan’s speedster Shaheen Afridi for a third time in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 as well.
“Abhishek Sharma is once again going to try and dominate that contest. But it might not be as simple as this is one of his first big final. Playing a final is a different experience and that too it is his first multinational tournament for the country. He has done exceedingly well. He is not going to shun his natural attacking approach because that’s what has got him so much of success,” said Chopra on ESPNCricinfo
“I still expect Abhishek Sharma to be the same agressive Abhishek Sharma. It remains to be seen how Shaheen is building from the confidence he has got from the last two games. If he’s not taken down initially, he’s a different bowler. But what if Abhishek actually wins that first little contest? There will be all eyes on it because it could be a deciding factor in this game,” he concluded.
