'He is better suited at No.4 than Iyer': Dasgupta predicts India's middle-order for 1st T20I against England
Iyer did not have a good series against Australia but the right-hander was one of India’s top performers in New Zealand last year.
Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta said he would hand debut to Suryakumar Yadav in place of Shreyas Iyer in the first T20I against England in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Dasgupta said, Suryakumar, who has earned his maiden call-up for the five-match T20I series against England, will be better suited at No.4 than Iyer, who has been batting in the middle order for India in the last few limited-overs series.
"I would play Suryakumar Yadav before Shreyas Iyer. It's just that at No. 4 in T20 cricket I think Suryakumar Yadav is better suited at this point in time," Dasgupta told Sports Today.
Iyer did not have a good series against Australia but the right-hander was one of India’s top performers in New Zealand last year. Suryakumar on the other hand has broken into the Indian side on the back of some stellar domestic and IPL performances.
With India captain Virat Kohli confirming that KL Rahul will open with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will sit out, it might not be a surprise if India pick both Iyer and Suryakumar in the side.
Rishabh Pant, who is also making a comeback into the T20 side and Hardik Pandya can take the No. 6 and No.7 slots. If Pandya is not fit enough to bowl four overs then it might force India to play Axar Patel and Washington Sundar both.
"India might go with Washington Sundar and 2 spinners because if Hardik is bowling then you can play 3 spinners. Washington can bowl in the first 6 overs so you don't need 3 seamers.
"They can still go with 3 spinners but I doubt they will. India might go with 2 spinners as of now because Hardik is not bowling," Dasgupta said.
When asked to comment on the outcome of the series, Dasgupta said it will an even contest.
"I think it's a 50-50 series to be very honest. If this would have been in England then obviously they would have been favourites.
"England overall, across all conditions might be a little ahead. The ICC rankings are a true reflection of where these 2 teams stand. Because India is playing at home that's the reason I'm saying 50-50," Dasgupta said.
The former keeper praised England’s dynamic approach with the bat irrespective of they are chasing or batting first.
"England is a very good and a set side and they are playing with their best playing XI apart from Jofra who's injured. They are a very confident white-ball side as well.
"There are not too many players from the Test side who are playing white-ball cricket because most of them are white-ball specialists. And their white-ball confidence level is totally different.
"When you see them bat, irrespective of what they are chasing, you could see that in their body language. That is a huge change that has come in English cricket in the last 3 years," Dasgupta said.
