Shastri issues stern warning to Rohit over Suryakumar opening call: 'He's in the form of his life. Don't tinker around'

The decision to open with Suryakumar Yadav hasn't gone down well with experts and veterans of the game as captain Rohit Sharma has been immensely criticised for the experimentation. Suryakumar became the seventh batter to open for India in 2022 in the T20I format, and managed only 35 runs in 21 balls across two innings. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri too did not back Rohit's decision to experiment with Suryakumar, who he admitted his a certainty for the T20 World Cup side in the middle-order position, and rather issued a stern to the skipper. (India vs West Indies 3rd T20 Live Score)

India have done a lot of experimentation in the T20I side in 2022 in a bid to find the perfect 15 for the World Cup. And the opening slot, which was set to be the least concerning of all, became the one of the most experimented slot. As many as seven batters, including Rohit, has been tried at the position with Ishan Kishan making the most appearances and the most runs in 2022. And despite his presence in the white-ball squads in all the series after IPL 2022, India have continued to look at various options.

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In the West Indies series, India have opened with Suryakumar in the first two matches despite the batter establishing himself as a strong middle-order option. And Shastri has been strongly against the move, explaining that with Suryakumar being a certainty to bat at No.4 in the World Cup side, India should have looked at other options like Rishabh Pant, who was indeed used as an opener in the England series earlier last month.

“Suryakumar is a certainty in the side. Bat him in the number he will bat at in the World Cup. And because if Rohit is opening the batting he will open with KL Rahul when he is back. If you want to give an opportunity to someone else, give to someone you want to check out. A guy who is a certainty, if you have decided where he is going to bat in the World Cup, bat him there. Don't tinker around,” Shastri said on Fan Code.

“Let him go in different situations, maybe two wickets down early or have to bat 5 or six overs but let him bat where he should bat, even then be flexible if need be. Suryakumar is in the form of his life at that middle-order position and he knows how to bat there as opposed to a lot of other players He bats long at that number which many cannot do and his strike rate is excellent. At the top Rishabh Pant can be given a go,” he added.

India will play the third match of the five-match series on Tuesday in St Kitts.