Before India kickstarted its final dress rehearsals for the ICC World Cup against Australia in Mohali, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid clarified that the Men In Blue have finalised their squad and middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav is a part of it. Making sure that his bat does all the talking, Suryakumar responded to his critics with a brilliant 50-run knock against Australia in the 1st One Day International (ODI) at Mohali.
In the same encounter, Shreyas Iyer missed out on scoring big because of an unfortunate run-out. However, the premier batter strengthened his selection case with a blistering century against Australia in the 2nd ODI as Virat Kohli-less Team India sealed the final series (2-1) before the World Cup. Suryakumar too played an entertaining knock in the penultimate clash as the No.6 batter smashed 72 off just 37 balls against Australia. It was Suryakmar's batting blitz that propelled India to a gigantic 399-5 in the 50-over contest at Indore.
'Suryakumar becomes India's X-factor'
Discussing India's problem of plenty ahead of the ODI World Cup, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri said that he will be keeping an eye on Suryakumar, who he believes is the X-factor for India at the ICC event. "I'll be watching him closely, very very closely. Because if your top order is firing, so you have 6-7-8 players, you will play him or Shreyas Iyer at this moment. But if all the batters are getting runs then that guy becomes the X factor in a big game, he can win you a game. Because at 6-7-8, the damage he can do with Hardik, they can just take the game away from the opposition in the last 6-7 overs. So that X factor you gotta think of, I can imagine that your batting is struggling but it's not the case," Shastri told ESPNCricinfo.
Suryakumar vs Iyer
While Suryakumar struggled to find a place for himself in India's Asia Cup playing XI, middle-order batter Iyer recorded a solitary appearance (against Pakistan) due to his back issues. Iyer later stamped his authority in the Australia series with a series-winning century for India. Iyer achieved an average of 52.00 and the middle-order batter amassed 156 runs in the Australia ODIs. Spearheading the Indian middle-order, Suryakumar regained form in the same series by smashing 130 runs in 3 ODIs.
'He will always be in my 12'
{{/usCountry}}While Suryakumar struggled to find a place for himself in India's Asia Cup playing XI, middle-order batter Iyer recorded a solitary appearance (against Pakistan) due to his back issues. Iyer later stamped his authority in the Australia series with a series-winning century for India. Iyer achieved an average of 52.00 and the middle-order batter amassed 156 runs in the Australia ODIs. Spearheading the Indian middle-order, Suryakumar regained form in the same series by smashing 130 runs in 3 ODIs.
'He will always be in my 12'
{{/usCountry}}"And in Indian conditions, very rarely it will struggle. You know you expect 1-2-3-4 - one hundred. He will always be in my 12. You have to see the conditions. A real flat track - I would think of Surya. Because you expect the other 3-4 to get runs. If it's (conditions are) tough, tricky, or seaming then maybe you don't know. You have 5 proper batters, all five similar, instead of that have one X-factor - could be a left-hander could be a Surya," Shastri added.