3 batters with a great T20I record but modest in ODIs ft. Suryakumar Yadav
Team India rebounded spectacularly from the heartbreak of the 2023 World Cup final defeat with a two-wicket win over Australia in the opening T20I in Visakhapatnam.
Appointed the skipper for the five-match T20I series, Suryakumar Yadav led from the front with a sensational 80 off 42 deliveries. Chasing a massive 209, the Men in Blue stuttered at 22/2 when the 33-year-old took centerstage and guided the team to victory.
While it is commonplace to find batters with a lower average in T20Is compared to ODIs or Tests due to the risky and volatile nature of the format, the opposite is few and far between. The latter defies cricketing logic to the point where it almost certainly becomes a mental attribute over skill-based factors.
There is also the case that certain batters are naturally free-flowing with taking risks almost part of their DNA, making the T20 format easier to adapt to over 50-over cricket.
Suryakumar falls in the rare list of batters with a tremendous T20I record but mediocre ODI numbers, despite both being white-ball formats.
Here, we look at three batters, including Suryakumar Yadav, with a terrific T20I record but modest numbers in ODIs.
#1 Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav has become the biggest enigma in world cricket due to his contrasting performances in ODIs and T20Is.
The 33-year-old has found the going tough in 50-over cricket, with a dismal average of 25.76 in 37 games. Although Suryakumar's batting position has constantly varied in ODIs, his skill level and T20 prowess had many also expecting him to blossom in the longer white-ball format.
He finally appeared to have found his new home as the finisher in the Indian ODI side, with back-to-back half-centuries against Australia in the final series before the World Cup. However, the swashbuckling batter had a World Cup to forget, averaging 17.66 with no half-centuries in seven matches.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar continues to produce staggering T20I numbers, with an incredible average of almost 47 and a strike rate of 173.37 in 54 games. He is also one of only six batters with three or more T20I centuries.
A key reason behind his T20I numbers being substantially better could be his batting in the top three or four for India. He also boasts vast experience in the shortest format, having played 139 IPL games with resounding success.
The right-handed batter is currently ranked the No.1 T20I batter in the world, a good 76 rating points ahead of second-placed Mohammad Rizwan.
#2 Manish Pandey
Another Indian batter with outstanding T20I credentials but mediocre ODI performances is middle-order batter Manish Pandey.
Contrary to Suryakumar Yadav, Pandey was off to a scintillating start to his ODI career. He scored 71 on his debut against Zimbabwe in 2015 before a match-winning 106* in his third batting stint against Australia in a successful 331 chase at the SCG.
Yet, the 34-year-old has scored above 50 only once since in 21 innings to see his overall ODI average dip to 33.29 in 29 games. It has resulted in Pandey being out of favor in the 50-over format since the middle of 2021.
However, the script flips dramatically in T20Is, where the right-handed batter averages a remarkable 44.31 in 39 outings. In contrast to ODIs, Pandey endured a dismal start to his T20I career, scoring above 20 only once in his first five innings.
He averaged a sensational 74.75 in 13 T20Is in 2018 and an other-worldly 122 in seven games in 2020. Thus, it is baffling that Pandey has not featured in the Indian T20I side since the end of 2020.
His diminishing strike rates of less than 130 in the IPL since 2020 and a less than 20 average in the 2022 and 2023 seasons possibly played a vital role in the batter's exclusion.
Nevertheless, Pandey remains among the select few batters boasting sparkling T20I numbers compared to his ODI statistics.
#3 Tim David
Big-hitting Australian batter Tim David came into the limelight thanks to his exploits in T20 cricket, especially in the Big Bash League (BBL).
To his credit, the 27-year-old has lived up to that reputation with excellent T20I numbers, averaging 37.45 and striking at 162.52 in 29 games.
After four years of playing only in T20Is for Australia, David finally broke through and debuted in ODIs in the recent series before the World Cup against South Africa. With his List A average of over 60 and strike rate of 120.06, the Singapore-born batter was expected to transition smoothly into the 50-over format.
However, David struggled to play the finisher role in the four ODIs ( his only four games in the format) against South Africa, averaging a horrendous 11.25 at a strike rate of less than 85. It included three scores in single figures as Australia lost the series 2-3.
In an already strong Aussies side that just won the ODI World Cup, it could be difficult for David to get another look into the ODI squad anytime soon despite his impressive T20I numbers.