Suryakumar Yadav was handed a golden opportunity of making his case for the 2023 ODI World Cup. With preferred No.4 batter Shreyas Iyer out of the ODI series against Australia, Suryakumar was given the chance to put his case forward and add to India's happy headache, but he returned to back-to-back golden ducks. Amid questions over his future in the format, veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik sent a “non-negotiable” message to captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid, while making an out-of-the-box suggestion.
In both the matches, Suryakumar was dismissed by left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc in exact similar manner. The two dismissals reduced his career average to 25.47.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after the second ODI, where India lost by 10 wickets, Karthik feels that is is necessary to back Suryakumar amid the absence of Iyer while suggesting a rejig in the middle-order line-up. Karthik explained that Hardik Pandya can be tried as a No.4 option, followed by KL Rahul and Suryakumar can feature as a No.6 batter, opining that the No.1 ranked T20I batter is at his best when offered limited overs.
“He would have gotten out on those two deliveries even in T20s. It is not that because it is ODIs, he is getting out. This is high-quality bowling irrespective of the format. He played the two ODIs now and prior to that he didn't play consistently. Shreyas Iyer was the preferred No.4 and rightfully so and Surya was the back-up option. Where we need to be with Surya is remind ourselves of the talent he is,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“He would have gotten out on those two deliveries even in T20s. It is not that because it is ODIs, he is getting out. This is high-quality bowling irrespective of the format. He played the two ODIs now and prior to that he didn't play consistently. Shreyas Iyer was the preferred No.4 and rightfully so and Surya was the back-up option. Where we need to be with Surya is remind ourselves of the talent he is,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“What I like to see is can they fit in Surya at a different place to get the best out of him. I feel, Hardik enjoys batting up top so is there a possibility of sending him at No.4 and Surya at six. It is so because when you give him 15-18 overs, the way he is able to turn the game on its head is very very good. And irrespective of whether there are 5 or 4 fielders inside the circle he is able to hit boundaries at will and make a mockery out of the captain. When you give Surya lesser overs, 14-18 overs, he is at his venomous best. Suryakumar in ODIs is a non-negotiable.”