Suryakumar Yadav has earned his place in the 15-man squad for India in the upcoming ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place from October 5. The selection of the right-handed batsman sparked intense debate among cricket enthusiasts due to his prior ODI performance falling short of expectations.
However, Surya silenced his critics with a remarkable display of skill during the recent three-match bilateral series against Australia. He notched up 50 runs off 49 deliveries in the first ODI and followed it up with a scintillating 72 off just 37 balls in the second ODI.
The knocks were significant for the 33-year-old, as it had been over a year and a half since he achieved a half-century in the ODI format.
Nevertheless, despite these impressive performances, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar holds the opinion that Surya still has room for further development and refinement to establish himself as a consistent performer in the ODI format.
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Suryakumar will have to wait: Gavaskar
Gavaskar expressed his viewpoint, stating that Surya has yet to impact the ODI format substantially. According to him, Surya tends to adopt a T20 style approach, primarily in the last 15-20 overs of the game, which, in his perspective, falls short of the requirements for ODI cricket.
He believes Surya should spend extended periods on the field and strive to register for centuries to demonstrate his suitability for the ODI format unequivocally.
“Suryakumar hasn’t done anything big yet in ODI cricket. He only bats in those final 15-20 overs where he utilizes his T20 abilities which undoubtedly is important as well. But Hardik, Ishan and Rahul can all do that same job as well. So Iyer is confirmed for No. 4. Suryakumar will have to wait and if he does get a chance at No. 4 he has to score a big hundred and show that he can also score a ton as well,” said Gavaskar, as quoted by NDTV.
