3 ways Team India can alter their batting order for Sri Lanka T20Is in Suryakumar Yadav's absence
Team India have been dealt a big blow ahead of the T20I series against Sri Lanka, with batter Suryakumar Yadav and pacer Deepak Chahar being ruled out due to injuries.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed that Chahar sustained a right quadriceps injury while bowling in the third T20I against the West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday. Suryakumar, meanwhile, suffered a hairline fracture while fielding in the same game. Both cricketers will head to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to further manage their injuries.
Due to bio-bubble restrictions, the BCCI are unlikely to name any replacements for the injured duo. With Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel, Team India still have five pace bowling options in the squad. However, they might have to alter their batting line-up to make up for Suryakumar’s absence.
Things Team India can try to overcome Suryakumar Yadav's absence
Let’s look at three ways Team India can tweak the batting order in the T20I series against Sri Lanka to try and make up for Suryakumar’s absence.
#1 Rohit Sharma moving into the middle order
In addition to Suryakumar Yadav, Team India will also be missing the services of the experienced duo of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. While the former is recuperating from injury, the latter has been given a rest. Sans the three batters, the middle order would wear quite a weak look. Hence, skipper Rohit Sharma could move down the order to bolster the batting in the middle and end overs.
Given his experience, the 34-year-old can be expected to take on the responsibility and play big shots at crucial junctures. As for the opening slot, Team India can give the combination of Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad a free hand to go after the bowling in the middle overs. The duo opened the batting in the third T20I against West Indies but the partnership could not last long.
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While Suryakumar’s absence is undoubtedly a blow, India can utilize the opportunity to try out a few different batting options and see how things pan out in the build-up to the T20 World Cup. The opening combination is definitely a worry and Suryakumar’s absence may force Team India to try out something that could be a blessing in disguise.
#2 Trying Sanju Samson in finisher’s role
Another option could be bringing in wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson into the playing XI in place of Suryakumar and not altering the opening combination of Rohit and Ishan. True, Samson does not possess the versatile skills of Suryakumar. But he is an exceptional talent himself, something fans have witnessed in the IPL a number of times.
For some reason, the 27-year-old has not been able to translate his potential into performance at the international level. He has an average of 11.70 after 10 T20Is. On most occasions, he has thrown his wicket away with poor strokes. However, Team India will look to give him confidence as he seems set to get another opportunity.
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Skipper Rohit also backed Samson’s talent at a press conference ahead of the T20I series against Sri Lanka. He asserted:
“He has got talent man, whenever you see him bat in the IPL, he has produced that innings where everyone goes over the moon watching that innings, he has got the skillset to succeed. That is the whole point about the sport, a lot of people have skill and talent, how you utilise it is the most critical part. It is now up to Sanju Samson how he wants to use that talent and maximise it because as team management, we see a lot of potential and a lot of talent in that individual."
#3 Fitting Ishan Kishan in the middle order
A third alternative in Suryakumar’s absence could be pushing Venkatesh Iyer to the top of the batting order and moving Kishan into the middle order. The young wicketkeeper-batter has struggled in recent times while opening the innings. Against West Indies in the recently concluded series, Kishan looked completely out of sorts.
Kishan has the experience of batting in the middle order in the IPL and has tasted success as well. In fact, he was the leading run-getter for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2020 edition with 516 runs from 14 matches at a strike rate of 145.76. Team India could thus possibly experiment with him in the middle order and see if he can make a difference.
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Kishan has the talent to succeed in various positions. During IPL 2020, he even took up the task of opening when Rohit got injured midway through the T20 league and did a very good job at it. The challenge for the Indian think tank will be to find out where Kishan fits in best into the scheme of things. But they need to figure it out pretty soon.