"You send Axar saying it is a seaming condition" - Former RCB batter slams Suryakumar Yadav after IND vs SA 2025 2nd T20I

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India batter Mohammad Kaif has criticised T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav after the Men in Blue’s loss in the second match of the five-game series against South Africa. The game was played on Thursday, December 11, in New Chandigarh.

Chasing a hefty target of 214, the Men in Blue went down by 51 runs, and the decision to send Axar Patel at No. 3, where he scored a run-a-ball 21, came under heavy scrutiny.

On Friday, December 12, in a YouTube short, Mohammad Kaif questioned Suryakumar Yadav’s call, asking why the skipper did not come in at No. 3 himself when the team needed 11 runs per over from the start. He added that promoting Axar to No. 3 was a defensive move, saying:

“Why did Suryakumar Yadav not come in at No. 3? He is the captain. He should take responsibility because the target is huge. You need 11 runs per over from the very first over. And you send Axar saying it is a seaming condition, the bowling is fast, let him make the ball a little older. This is a defensive approach.”

“You do not need to make the ball old, you need to hit it. You need to attack and hit big shots. You have such powerful hitters sitting there. Suryakumar Yadav is such a big T20 batter, but he is holding himself back. Later, when the required run rate shoots up, what will you do then?” he added.

Suryakumar walked in at No. 4 and had another disappointing outing, scoring only five runs off four balls.

---

“That was a big mistake” - Mohammad Kaif on India sending Axar Patel at No. 3

In the same video, Mohammad Kaif stated that promoting Axar Patel to No. 3 was a major mistake and pointed out that there was no dew at all. He added that South Africa’s bowlers performed brilliantly under the lights and won the match through disciplined bowling. Kaif said:

“Sending Axar was a very wrong move. Axar usually comes at No. 5 when more wickets have fallen and you are chasing around 170. He builds partnerships in those situations. But in a chase of 213, you have played eight proper batters. You should have gone for full attacking batting. That was a big mistake.”

“So overall, where was the dew factor? At the toss you said there would be dew, but there was none at all. In fact, their bowlers benefitted. Under the lights, when the weather got colder, the ball started moving even more. How did India lose their first three wickets? Tell me. Shubman Gill caught behind, Abhishek Sharma caught behind, Suryakumar Yadav caught behind. All three dismissals came from hard-length deliveries. They won the match simply by bowling with discipline,” he added.

The teams will meet again for the third T20I on Sunday, December 14, in Dharamsala.