He might be a batting superstar in T20Is but Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t yet been able to crack the ODIs which is apparent from the fact he hasn’t scored a fifty in his last 16 innings in the format. For someone who has been quite consistent in T20 cricket at the international level, it remains a mystery why he struggles in one-day format.
Suryakumar’s List A record is decent – in 126 matches, he has scored 3306 runs at 34.08 and boasts a strike-rate of 103.7. However, his numbers have been quite below par in ODIs – from 22 innings thus far, he has 452 runs at 23.78 and has a strike-rate of 100.66.
The first ODI against West Indies on Thursday saw him ending a disastrous run of three ducks in a row in the format but he was out on 19 after a promising start.
The ODI World Cup starts in nearly two months time and India again are facing a big challenge in their batting order – a reliable option at No. 4 – something which they endured during the 2019 WC in England and which ultimately was blamed for their failure to win the title.
With Suryakumar still finding his feet in ODIs and no clarity on when Shreyas Iyer will gain full fitness, India will be worried.
However, former India cricketer and Jiocinema expert RP Singh thinks that Suryakumar can be a ‘good option’ and Team India only needs to give him more game-time.
“Suryakumar Yadav is a good option for No 4, along with Shreyas (Iyer), provided he is fit. But if you are looking at him even as a backup option, it is important to give him game-time and he is certainly a good pick,” Singh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“Suryakumar is yet to make his mark in one-day cricket but the way he is batting, and the kind of batter that he is, he can be a good option for No 4 or 5,” he added.
Suryakumar, 32, has scored 1675 runs at a strike-rate of 175.76 in 48 T20Is so far and Singh considers the middle-order batter will have to come up with a different gameplan to start scoring in ODIs.
“You must always have backup options heading into major tournaments. His current form in T20 cricket has been very good, one-day format is different because you have (to face) more number of balls. Due to that, he will have to change his game-plan a bit,” Singh said.
“He is an experienced player, it is about that one click how many games he takes to make one big score. Once that happens, he will not face any such issues. Anyway, how many options does the team even have for No 4?,” he added.
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