IND vs SA: Dale Steyn Believes Suryakumar Yadav's Adaptive Approach To T20I Captaincy 'Brings Out Best In Players'

India vs South Africa Cuttack T20I: Former South Africa speedster Dale Steyn believes that India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav's "secure, welcoming, and willing to adjust" captaincy approach brought out the best in players.

Under Suryakumar's captaincy, India has seen noteworthy success, including triumphing in all five T20 bilateral series he's led so far.

With head coach Gautam Gambhir stressing receptiveness, energy, and a readiness to adjust to match conditions, India have been testing with their batting line-up.

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Skipper Suryakumar himself scrambled between the No.3 and No.4 positions. Notably, in the opening T20I against South Africa, Suryakumar batted at one down.

"When you have the backing of your team and feel comfortable in your environment, you can have open conversations with your players. You're not threatened by your spot or by the captaincy," Steyn said on JioStar.

"You put the team first and say, 'What's best for the individual? What's best for the team?' That's the kind of captain everyone wants, someone who's secure, welcoming, and willing to adjust for the greater good. Even if it's just for a game or a series, that flexibility brings out the best in your players," he added.

Steyn acknowledges that the faith allows Suryakumar to make challenging, tactical calls without friction.

"So when he tells someone, 'You can't bat at three today, I need you at six,' the batter understands because the captain has backed him before. That's a fantastic skill and a great leadership quality," Steyn added.

Steyn also analysed India's and South Africa's performances in depth, citing that the hosts gave visitors a perfect example of "how to play on a sporting wicket."

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"It's a tough one. Not tough to decipher how they batted, but it's certainly a tough pill to swallow because these are conditions you'd expect South Africa to be familiar with. At home, there's always a bit of nip and seam, and we actually saw that when they bowled. So you'd think the message to the batters would've been: get through the first nine or ten overs, assess, and then go deep, similar to how Hardik played. But it looked like there was a bit of franticness without any real aggression," Steyn said.