India’s explosive player and world’s no. 1 T20I batter, Suryakumar Yadav, is currently struggling to find his form in the One Day Internationals (ODI) and has repeatedly failed to impress with the bat in his last few innings. He was dismissed for consecutive golden ducks in the first two matches of India’s three-match 50-over series against Australia. Notably, the right-handed batter fell victim to star Aussie fast bowler Mitchell Starc in both games.
After registering a win in the opening game, India faced an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia in the second match. Starc played a clinical role in helping the visitors level the series 1-1 and make a strong comeback in Visakhapatnam. The 33-year-old pacer picked a fifer in the game. He had also scalped three wickets in the series opener.
Following Australia’s dominant victory, questions over Suryakumar’s poor batting performance in ODI’s were raised by many cricket enthusiasts. Speaking about the same on ESPN Cricinfo, former India opener Wasim Jaffer said that although Starc bowled really well, the Mumbai batter should have been prepared for such bowling.
“We might sympathize with Suryakumar Yadav as the first ball that he faced was of 145 clicks. No doubt that it’s challenging when a left-arm seamer tries to bring the ball back in. Again, he should have anticipated that when Mitchell Starc bowls, he will attack the stumps and might swing the ball,” said Jaffer.
The 45-year-old cricketer further insisted that in the absence of injured Shreyas Iyer and considering Surya’s bad form, Sanju Samson should be given a chance in India’s ODI set-up based on his past performances.
“We have to see if the management sticks with him 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,” he added.
Talking about Samson’s ODI career, the Kerala cricketer has so far played 11 ODIs for India and has 330 runs to his name at an impressive average of 66. Meanwhile, Suryakumar managed to score only 110 runs in his last nine 50-over matches.
However, Rohit Sharma had backed Suryakumar in the post-match press conference after the Visakhapatnam game and said, “We don’t know about Iyer’s return. So, at this point in time, there is a spot available. So we have to play him (Suryakumar). He has shown a lot of potential with the white-ball and I have said it many a times before, guys with potential will be given a run.”
