'Every other side in world is doing a little dance if...': Styris singles out India star with 'game-winning potential'

All three ODIs between India and West Indies will be played at Queen's Park Oval after which the teams switch formats.

With big names missing from the Indian contingent, the likes of Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav are expected to step up in West Indies for the three One-Day Internationals, beginning Friday (July 22). The Indians have opted to rest a bunch of star players including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but the away series offers fringe players a great stage to prove their worth.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris (Twitter)

Led by Shikhar Dhawan, the visiting team will have a rejigged batting line-up but it remains to be seen whether in-form Deepak Hooda claims the No. 3 position. The spotlight will also be on Suryakumar, who has been churning out runs with his 360-approach irrespective of conditions.

The right-handed batter hit a valiant 117 in the final match of a three-T20I series against England. He notched up magnificent innings of 117 (55) including 14 boundaries and 6 sixes, albeit in a losing cause. Fresh from white-ball success in England, the 31-year-old will look to maintain the run-scoring spree.

Scott Styris has lavished huge praise on the Indian, saying any opposition would be delighted if he doesn't make it to the playing eleven.

"There are very few people on this planet who are bigger fans of SKY than what I am, I can tell you that right now. If he is not in that side, then every other side around the world is just doing a little dance," Styris told Sports 18.

Styris said Suryakymar needs to bat at the No. 4 spot and elaborated on why the Mumbai Indians (MI) star is among the first guys to be picked in the line-up.

“It was pleasing for me when everyone said that he should be one of the first guys picked and I can understand why. I think he has got real game-winning potential, that's what you are after, you want players who can win matches on their own.”

"It's the other names around, you have got Rohit, KL Rahul and Kohli - so the front three are taken. So there is a real squeeze where he fits in. I think he should be the No. 4 but he is up against the likes of Shreyas Iyer and the Sanju Samsons," said the former New Zealand player.

Earlier, Suryakumar had said that he approaches 50-over cricket the same way as he goes about batting in the T20s. He said that he has worked on improving his game to keep up with modern-day cricket.

"My mindset is the same in ODI, I try to bat similar to how I do in T20. Playing the natural game is important and there is an advantage in one days that five fielders are inside the circle so the intent is always to score runs. Even if the wickets are falling I try to keep the scoreboard ticking."

"I have worked on how I can improve my game in the last three years, how I can make runs and that is what I practice. I have just added a few shots of my own."