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'This is not the first time...': Former BCCI selector's blunt take on Suryakumar Yadav's ODI struggles
Suryakumar Yadav is yet to successfully transfer his scintillating form in T20Is to the ODI format.
Suryakumar Yadav has taken the world by storm with his swashbuckling consistency in T20 Internationals. Despite this, he is yet to break through as a first choice player in India's ODI eleven, with Shreyas Iyer, who was India's highest run scorer in 2022 in the format, playing in the No.4 position and KL Rahul at No.5.
Moreover, Suryakumar is yet to successfully transfer the form he shows in T20Is to the longer white ball format. The 32-year-old however played in all of the three ODIs against New Zealand. While he didn't bat in the second match, Suryakumar scored 31 and 14 runs in the first and third games respectively. He set up a strong 65-run partnership with Shubman Gill in the first ODI as the latter went on to score a double century.
However, the innings was a far cry from the explosive manner in which he bats in T20Is. Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim has said that Suryakumar may need more time and some clarity of his role in the team to settle into the 50-over format. "This is not the first time. Previously, when he got the opportunity to play in ODIs, he didn’t score as per expectations. I still think he is an invaluable player. Some players need some time to adjust. He should discuss this with Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid to gain more clarity,” he said on India News.
Suryakumar has scored 433 runs in 18 innings with a highest score of 64 in ODIs. This is in stark contrast to his staggering T20I numbers. In the shortest format, Suryakumar has scored 1578 runs in 43 innings at an average of 46.41 and a strike rate of a whopping 180.34. He has scored three centuries, two of which he scored in last year alone. This year, he has played three innings and scored a century in one.
