IPL 2021: Sunil Gavaskar lashes out at Surykumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan for getting relaxed after India call-up

New Delhi, Oct 5: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has come down heavily upon Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan after the Mumbai Indians' duo failed to make an impression in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

The MI's middle-order batsmen Suryakumar and Ishan's poor form in the second leg of the IPL 14 disappointed the fans of the defending champions. Their dismal show with the bat in the UAE must have also left the Indian cricket team management worried as the Men In Blue will begin their T20 World Cup campaign later this month.

Suryakumar Yadav - who received his maiden India call-up during the limited-overs series against England in April this year - was a major letdown in the second phase of IPL 2021. In his last five innings in the UAE, the right-handed batsman had scores of 3,5,8,0 and 33.

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Ishan Kishan too had a similar story and the left-handed batsman was dropped from the MI squad after back-to-back three failures in UAE. The southpaw scored 11, 14, and 9 in his last three innings before the team management decided to bench him.

Commenting upon the poor batting performances of the MI batters, the legendary batsman-turned-commentator opined the duo has relaxed after getting the India call-up.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show Cricket Connected, Gavaskar shared his thoughts about why the MI players might be out of form and said: "I think it looks to me like, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have just relaxed a little bit after getting the India cap. They might not have, but some of the shots they are playing - it looks like they are trying to play these big shots just because they are India players.

Sometimes what happens is, you gotta give yourself a little bit of time, and you gotta get your shot selection right. And I think that is where they have missed this time around, where their shot selection has not been exactly correct, and that's why they've got out cheaply."

Meanwhile, on the show, former Team India pacer Ajit Agarkar shared his views on why the team management should not make any changes to India's T20 World Cup squad.

Agarkar - who was part of the 2007 WC-winning Indian side - said: "In my opinion, once you have picked the squad for World Cup - barring injury - I don't think you should make any changes. Yes, there are guys at the moment who are not in their great form, but it only takes one innings - whether it's bowling or batting - to change that form around, and that could still happen before the end of the IPL.

"So, if you think that's the best 15 you've picked going to the World Cup, my personal opinion, I would stick with it, because you gotta show faith in people even when things are not looking so good, because things can turn around very quickly."

The Virat Kohli-led Indian side will begin its campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24. Following their semi-final finish against West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup fans are hoping the Men In Blue will make it to the finals this time around and lift the trophy.