India vs SL: Should Suryakumar Yadav bat at three?
Suryakumar Yadav will be one of the players keen to make a mark when India take on Sri Lanka in July. The three-match ODI and T20I series will most certainly see the Mumbai batsman make the playing XI.
While he does face stiff competition from the likes of Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan jostling for the No.3 spot, it does appear he has an edge over the trio.
Yadav had a fine outing batting at No.3 when India played England earlier this year. He notched up a crisp 57 off just 31 deliveries as India won by eight runs. He followed it up with a 17-ball-32 in his second T20I which India won by 36 runs.
Stats support the move to have Suryakumar Yadav bat at No.3. He has racked up 1052 runs in IPL batting at that position and the MI team think-tank persisted by giving him that slot even in IPL 2021.
By his own standards, he might not have set the now-paused edition on fire, but there was enough in his two T20I knocks to show he might be the answer to India's No.3 conundrum in the long run.
Suryakumar Yadav at No.3 lends balance to the side
The new-look contingent traveling to the island nation will see Shikhar Dhawan open the innings with either Prithvi Shaw or Devdutt Padikkal. The middle order looks beefy with Pandey, Samson, Nitish Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad and the Pandya brothers.
Having Yadav at No.3 balances the side given his ability to accelerate or drop anchor, according to the game's scenario. There have been enough instances in the IPL where he shepherded the team through with some panache and a mature head. This makes him an ideal candidate to lend some much-required balance.
Surya's strengths: Consistency & pacing the innings
Yadav's strike rate was marginally better at No.3 when compared to his stint as an opener. In the 12 innings he walked out to open the game in the IPL, his strike rate read 136.11. It bumped up to 139.15 when he slotted into one position below.
The reason behind the SR boost was his ability to switch gears. While he may seem a tad watchful early on in his innings, he reads the conditions and paces his innings accordingly. Yadav's pyrotechnics just add to his strengths as a player who can also find boundaries easily.
The knack of anchoring the innings just adds to why Suryakumar Yadav will almost, and as far as opinion goes, bat at No.3. The recent good run against England, followed by a decent IPL, will remain fresh on his mind.
Do you think Suryakumar Yadav will be India's No.3 in their SL tour?
India’s squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (Wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya
Net Bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh