Suryakumar Yadav's 'honest' admission on his ODI World Cup chances after Rohit Sharma's 'Shreyas Iyer' revelation
Will the 83-run knock and a possible batting opportunity in India's final white-ball game before Asia Cup make up for Suryuakumar's ODI World Cup chances?
Suryakumar Yadav's continued struggle in ODI cricket has been among the talking points as India build towards the Asia Cup, followed by the 2023 World Cup at home. After comments from captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid, Suryakumar himself admitted to his poor numbers in the format and not making most of the opportunities handed to him throughout the year. The star India batter did roar back to format after a string of poor performances in white-ball cricket this summer, especially in the 50-over format where he hasn't scored a half-century in over two years, with a stunning knock of 83 runs against West Indies this week, but it came in his preferred format, the T20s. But will the knock and a possible batting opportunity in India's final white-ball game before Asia Cup make up for his ODI World Cup chances?
When preferred No.4 batter Shreyas Iyer got injured earlier this year, team management looked at it as an opportunity to hand back-up option Suryakumar a lengthy run and reap benefits of his formidable T20I form. But the 32-year-old failed to make the most of the golden chance as he managed only 127 across nine innings with three golden ducks, no half-centuries and only two knocks past the 30-run mark. Among batters who have faced at least 100 deliveries and played 10 matches this year, Suryakumar's average of 14.11 is the lowest among top order batters in the format.
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After his knock of 83 in the third T20I against Rovman Powell's men, Suryakumar was asked whether he would look at performances in this format make his case for the ODI World Cup squad and the India batter made an "honest" admission.
"You got to be honest with yourself. You can't hide behind the bush. At the same time I am not thinking too much about what's going to happen ahead, thinking about this series," he said before the start of the fourth T20I in Lauderhill where he failed to find an opportunity to bat after openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a record stand to seal a nine-wicket win.
Suryakumar's comment comes just days after Rohit made a revelation on Iyer's return for the ODI World Cup. While reports have claimed that neither KL Rahul nor Iyer will be fit enough for Asia Cup, Rohit admitted that he has his fingers crossed over the latter's return for the World Cup thereby confirming his place in the squad once he is deemed fit.
“Shreyas Iyer is on the track to full fitness, so fingers crossed for World Cup,” Rohit had said during an event in the USA last week.
Suryakumar in four-way battle for India No.4 spot
Suryakumar's battle for a spot in the World Cup squad does not just depends on Iyer's return. In fact he stands in a four-way battle for the No.4 spot where Rahul and Sanju Samson are in competition as well amid recent rise his calls from veterans and experts to include young Tilak Varma in the race as well.
Suryakumar hence will have only the Asia Cup to prove his worth for the 50-over event as India would want to try Rahul and Iyer in the home series against Australia next month before finalising their World Cup squad.
