Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma announced India's squad for the 2023 Asia Cup on Monday and clarified a number of questions that was floating around the team going into the press conference in New Delhi. Among the talking points was the inclusion of Suryakumar Yadav, who by his own admission has not been able to convert the blistering form he enjoys in T20 cricket to the 50-over format.
Tom Moody, the former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach, has said that he feels Suryakumar is quite lucky to be in the squad and he would have rather gone for a young star like Yashasvi Jaiswal. "The player that I think is lucky to be in that side is Suryakumar Yadav. I know that he's a player that we all love to watch, but he is yet to really master the 50-over game. I think he's played over 20 matches now and at a very modest return," Moody said on Star Sports.
“And to me, there are better options available. I would have much rather seen a younger player like a Jaiswal in that side. Or take that position, and play a wrist spinner. Um, you know another wrist spinner.”
Jaiswal, who has had a fantastic start to his Test and T20I career in the West Indies, is yet to earn his ODI cap but with the way he is going it won't be long before the left-hander breaks into the ODI squad.
SKY's puzzling ODI struggles
{{/usCountry}}Jaiswal, who has had a fantastic start to his Test and T20I career in the West Indies, is yet to earn his ODI cap but with the way he is going it won't be long before the left-hander breaks into the ODI squad.
SKY's puzzling ODI struggles
{{/usCountry}}Suryakumar's numbers in T20 internationals are off the charts. In 53 matches, SKY has scored 1841 at a strike rate of a whopping 172.70 and average of 46.02 with three centuries and 15 half centuries. In ODIs, however, SKY has played 26 matches and scored just 511 at an average of 24.33 and strike rate of 101.38. He has just two half centuries to his name.
"He's a genius in T20 cricket. But the 50-over cricket is a completely different format, and he's yet to really crack the code for that. You know, I just don't think he's gonna do it at the last minute," said Moody.
By the looks of it, the Indian team management has dropped the idea of batting SKY up the order. He appears to be the one fighting for the No.6 spot but with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja already there, it is unlikely that SKY will start in India's XI for the first part of the Asia Cup starting August 30. India begin their campaign against Pakistan on September 2.