Indian middle-order Suryakumar Yadav is experiencing yet another downslide in his career. A part of the 2022 T20 World Cup squad, his consistency has been under question since India crept their way into the semis. SKY managed to get good starts but failed to capitalise. He is now dealing with a different story.
Suryakumar Yadav has been picked for the ODI series against Australia. In both matches, he has fallen prey to Mitchell Starc twice without troubling the scorers. His quick dismissals have led to shocking batting collapses. Even though KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja managed to steer the boat in the first match, The Men in Blue sank in the second.
Australia has leveled the series (1-1) after a clinical 10-wicket win in Visakhapatnam. They skittled India for just 117, courtesy of Starc’s five-wicket haul. Aussie openers Mitchell Marsh (66*) and Travis Head (51*) gave no chance for a fightback from the Indian bowlers.
A lot of expectations are riding on Suryakumar Yadav now that Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are out of action for a long time due to injuries. He is selected for the series against Aussies due to his vast experience. However, Wasim Jaffer believes there is another suitable candidate for the underperforming batsman: Sanju Samson.
During an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Jaffer sided with the power-hitting Samson. The domestic cricket captain of Kerala hasn’t played for Team India this year despite holding an average of 66.00 in ODIs.
“We have to see if the management sticks with him (Suryakumar) in the third ODI, otherwise it’s not a bad option to give Sanju Samson a chance because he has played well when given the opportunity and he is a good player.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
Left-handed seamers continue to haunt Team India. Mitchell Starc dismissed the whole Indian top order inside ten overs to lay the platform for a solid win. Speaking of SKY, Starc rattled the stumps of the right-hander by bowling an inswinging delivery, clocked at 145 kmph.
Rohit Sharma believes Suryakumar Yadav needs more time
SKY has been a standout performer in T20s. His innovative techniques combined with wrist work torment the bowling side to set up a field for him. He has given many spectacles to the world of cricket and hopefully, he would be able to continue to do so after he gains form.
Following the disappointing loss in the second ODI, Rohit Sharma addressed Surya’s future. He believes the middle-order batsman just needs more time to adjust to the 50-over format. Last year, he only played 22 games and scored a little over 400 runs. His T20 run has been magnificent though.
“Yes he got out in the last two games and the series before that as well. But he needs that consistent run, like back-to-back games, seven, eight or ten games, so that he feels more comfortable.”
(Source: ICC)
The Indian skipper also mentioned that Suryakumar was just a replacement. Continued disappointing runs with the bat would make the selectors look toward other batsmen. Now that the series is leveled, all eyes are on the third ODI on Wednesday.
Sanju Samson is a potential choice, closely followed by the recent Test team inductee KS Bharat if India believes a change in the middle order is a must.
