The world's premier T20 maverick hasn't been able to crack the 50-overs code so far and has had suggestions made for him to be dropped before the Asia Cup.
Suryakumar Yadav’s One-Day struggles may have inspired suggestions on his inability to crack the 50-overs format, but the T20 maverick continues to find support from the team management and selectors. The adventurous right-hander, easily the world’s finest T20I player, hasn’t been able to ace the rigours of the longer version, finding it tough to truly grasp its tempo.
It hasn’t helped that Suryakumar has featured sporadically in the format since his debut two years back, a period in which India built towards successive T20 World Cups, with the Mumbaikar mainly finding his opportunities as a backup to incumbents KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant in the demanding middle-order role.
The think-tank has batted the experienced 32-year-old at a range of positions from No.4 to No.6, and he has batted with great selfless intent. But the strike-rate of 101.38 does little to bolster his stocks when the average stands at 24.33 after 26 matches, underlining his inconsistency.
Poor performances in India’s two most recent ODI assignment against Australia and West Indies have followed suggestions for the selectors to shed their project Suryakumar Yadav before the looming Asia Cup and the World Cup. But former India cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar reinforced why the T20 beast remains a “temptation” for the decision-makers.
Speaking on Star Sports, Manjrekar said while Suryakumar Yadav’s performances haven’t been upto scratch yet, he remains an attractive option amidst a series of middle-order injuries with his ability to dominate the end-overs stage of an innings.
Batting mainly in the overs 35-50 would give the uniquely built right-hand batter the opportunity to play in T20-like scenarios, Manjrekar stressed, identifying Suryakumar as a “loose end” that the management must quickly tie.
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“I think most issues seem to address (themselves) when the batter is in pretty good form,” Manjrekar said. “India of course have to ponder on the Suryakumar Yadav case because in 50 overs cricket he is not quite making the same impact but he will be such a big temptation on a big stage when he walks in with just 15-17 overs left in the innings, can be a game changer.”
“So that is an issue India need to sort of finalise whether they want, Suryakumar Yadav, so that is one loose end they need to tie,” he added.
