"I will pick Tilak Varma" - Wasim Jaffer drops Suryakumar Yadav from his ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 squad
Wasim Jaffer feels young batter Tilak Varma should get the nod over Suryakumar Yadav in India's squad for the forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Jaffer reckoned that Suyrakumar has failed to make the most of his opportunities so far in ODI cricket. Explaining the reason why Tilak should be named in India's side for the ICC event, the former cricketer told ESPNcricinfo:
"It's a tough choice between Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav. I will pick Tilak Varma, even though he hasn't played ODI cricket at all. But looking at how he bats and plays his cricket, he is more suited to 50-over cricket."
"Suryakumar Yadav does show a lot of potential and promise, but he hasn't yet cracked the code of ODI cricket, and he has got a lot of opportunities," he added.
Notably, Tilak Varma is yet to make his debut in ODI cricket. The southpaw, however, did impress in his maiden T20I series, chalking up 173 runs in five innings against the West Indies last month.
"This is one format in which I am really looking forward to doing well" - Suryakumar Yadav on his ODI performances
Suryakumar Yadav has been one of India's top performers in T20Is and is currently occupies the top spot in the ICC rankings for batters in the 20-over format.
However, he has failed to translate his red-hot form into ODI cricket. The right-handed batter himself admitted that he hasn't been able to make a mark in the format till now.
Speaking to Star Sports ahead of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023, here's what he told Star Sports about his ODI performances:
"I will try to do well in the role that I am given. This is one format in which I am really looking forward to doing well. Everyone keeps saying that I am doing great in T20, and this is also white-ball cricket, so why am I not able to crack the code here? But I have been practicing."
"I feel this is the most challenging format where you need to play like all three formats, depending on the situation. I am working on that and also have been talking a lot to Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. Hopefully, I will crack the code with this tournament," he added.
Suryakumar Yadav has 511 runs to his name from 26 ODIs at an average of 24.33. He failed to find a place in India's playing XI for the team's opening encounter of the Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan on Saturday.