3 reasons why Suryakumar Yadav should be a part of India's ODI squad despite his golden duck hat-trick

Suryakumar Yadav had a torrid time in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia earlier this month. The Mumbai batter recorded three consecutive ducks, becoming the first player to get dismissed for golden ducks in every match of a three-ODI series.

The world's number-one-ranked T20I batter hasn't been able to work his magic in the longer white-ball format. With only 433 runs in 21 innings, averaging a mere 24.05, SKY hasn't hit the same heights in the fifty-over game.

With the World Cup not far away, Team India once again find themselves in a tricky situation with regards to the No. 4 slot. However, backing Suryakumar Yadav despite his hat-trick of golden ducks might be the way to go for the side.

Here, we take a look at three reasons why:

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#1 Suryakumar Yadav is a match-winner

The numbers in the format might not reflect it yet, but there is no denying that Suryakumar is a match-winner for any side he represents. We have seen his ability in Indian colors more recently, and long before that in the Indian Premier League.

With 3287 runs in List A cricket, which includes 19 half-centuries and three tons, SKY averages close to 35. While the questions asked on his lean run are valid, there is enough to suggest that a player of his caliber should be backed for a longer run.

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#2 India don't have too many options at this stage

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SKY wasn't India's first-choice number-four batter until six months ago. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were both ahead in the pecking order for the team before being unavailable due to their respective injuries. The wicketkeeper has definitely been ruled out of the tournament, while there are serious doubts over Shreyas' fitness too.

So, in a situation like this, the Indian side don't have too many options to choose from. Head coach Rahul Dravid has already spoken about the importance of narrowing down the squad to a pool of 17-18 players before the Asia Cup, and in that pool of players, there aren't too many better options than Suryakumar Yadav.

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#3 Offers flexibility in batting positions

One significant advantage SKY has over the other options India have is the kind of flexibility he offers in the middle order. That's something the team could look to explore as well, allowing him to be a floater in the middle order.

Suryakumar doesn't need to have a fixed position in that batting slot. He can be sent in based on certain situations where the team wants to counter-attack or can be held back for death overs where the team needs to inject some impetus in the innings

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