'One of the harshest things I have ever seen': Former cricketers express surprise at Suryakumar Yadav's omission

India vs England: The India batsman, despite not getting a chance to bat on his debut, was left out of the Playing XI for the 3rd T20I.

You’ve got to feel for Suryakumar Yadav. After finally getting to make his India debut in the second T20I against England on Sunday, the batsman was left out of the Playing XI for the third match of the series. This, after he did not even get a chance to bat in his maiden game. India captain Virat Kohli announced that since Rohit Sharma was returning to the team, unfortunately Suryakumar had to miss out, since the management opted to give KL Rahul another chance after scores of 1 and 0.

Suryakumar Yadav fields during the 2nd T20I. (BCCI)

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra and Graeme Swann gave their opinion on India's team change. Chopra feels India shouldn't have taken decisions just on their assumption of how the red soil will behave.

"You will have to access the surface first because you can’t really go talking in town about how you’re going to play without really accessing the pitch. In this team, I’m still wondering who was the guy who delivered the message to Suryakumar Yadav that after your debut, and not getting to bat, you’re not playing the next game," Chopra said on Star Sports.

"Ishan Kishan is batting at 3, which means that Virat Kohli is not batting at his preferred spot. So you’re still trying out a few things. There are still five bowling options so you also know that now since you have to bowl second, you need to score whatever the pitch is that you access, 10-15 more than that."

Swann feels dropping Suryakumar, through no fault of his own, was one of the toughest calls he has seen in his life, while underlining the logic behind it. Swann reckons India are 'desperate' to have their opening combination of Rohit and Rahul – one that played in the 2019 World Cup – to click with the T20 World Cup approaching.

"I want to give a big shout out to Yadav. Making his debut, not getting a chance to bat and then getting dropped. That’s one of the harshest things I have ever seen. But you’ve got to understand why they are doing it, because they are desperate for Sharma and Rahul to get some form and games under their belts," said Swann.

"They are desperate for Rahul and Sharma to be there for the opening partnership when it comes to that World Cup. You can see that coming up. Personally, I think Ishan Kishan did so well, opened it up the other night with the right-hand left-hand combination. That’s the way I would move forward if I was the Indian selector or captain or coach. But India seem set in their ways, they want KL Rahul to come back to form and they want Sharma."