IND vs WI 2022: "I think any experimentation involving him should be avoided" - Rajkumar Sharma urges Team India to keep Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order
Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma strongly believes that Suryakumar Yadav is best suited at No.4 for Team India. The Men in Blue tinkered with their batting line-up across the last two T20Is against the West Indies, sending the Mumbai Indians (MI) batter to open the innings.
Unfortunately, Suryakumar, who has opened for MI in the past, failed to make much of an impression at the top of the order. The right-handed batter was dismissed inside the powerplay on both occasions and managed scores of 24 and 11, respectively.
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Expressing his surprise at India turning to Suryakumar Yadav as an opener despite having plenty of options available, Sharma said in an interaction with India News Sports:
"It is surprising that India are not going with their regular opener or even Rishabh Pant, who has been promoted to open before as well. This is a huge experiment, but Suryakumar is such a player who has already established himself at No.4. The Indian team needs him in the middle order. So, I think any experimentation involving him should be avoided."
The Mumbai-born batter burst onto the scene with a landmark campaign in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL), where he opened the innings for MI. He finished as the highest scorer for the franchise with 512 runs at an average of 36.57. He had a healthy strike rate of 133.33.
"Suryakumar Yadav has scored runs at No.4 and is a proven match winner, there is no need to promote him" - Saba Karim
In the prolonged absence of KL Rahul, the Men in Blue have employed the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda at the top of the order.
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Expressing his thoughts surrounding the myriad of changes made by Team India in the recent past, former India selector Saba Karim said:
"I have absolutely no idea what is going on with the batting order. Why is there an effort to unsettle the second team? There is no point in experimenting or unsettling the players who have already sealed their place in the squad."
He concluded:
"The combination of the entire team and their mental state worsens with this. Suryakumar has scored runs at No.4 and is a proven match winner, there is no need to promote him."
It remains to be seen whether India will persist with Suryakumar Yadav as the opener alongside Rohit Sharma.
Where do you feel he is best suited in the current Indian batting order? Let us know what you think.