New Delhi: India skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s form with the bat will be up for scrutiny in their five-match T20I series opener against Australia in Canberra on Wednesday.

Yadav’s lean patch with the willow has stretched for quite a while though that has hardly affected the team’s performance, as India have won 23 of the 29 matches under him.

As the T20 World Cup will be held in early next year, the Australia series will serve as start of proper preparation as India will get 15 matches in this period before the big event.

From 733 runs in 18 innings at a strike rate of nearly 156 with two centuries and five fifties in 2023, Yadav amassed little less than 450 runs at a strike rate of 151 in 2024 and this year, he has managed 100 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of over 105.

‘Team first

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