“He rarely gets out playing a bad shot” - Nikhil Chopra makes a case for Suryakumar Yadav at No.4 in T20Is
Former India cricketer Nikhil Chopra has backed Suryakumar Yadav for the crucial No.4 slot in T20Is. According to him, Suryakumar is a very good reader of the game and is adept at playing as per the situation.
Team India have tried Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer in the No.4 slot in recent times. However, according to Chopra, Suryakumar would be a better choice.
Speaking on the Khelneeti podcast, he explained:
“If Suryakumar bats with Kohli, he can keep moving the game. He will look to give more strike to Kohli. He understands game situations very well. And if he bats at No.4, India have a trump card player in Rishabh Pant at No.5.”
The former off-spinner added that Suryakumar can play the role of an anchor at the No.4 position. He explained:
“Suryakumar can score at a strike rate of 120-130 and improve it when needed. I would like to give him more chances because he has very good game awareness. He rarely gets out playing a bad shot.”
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The 48-year-old also admitted that the T20I series will be important for Pant considering he has a key role to play in the batting unit. The former cricketer elaborated:
“It is very important as he has been given a specific role keeping the T20 World Cup in mind. It is about shot selection and how much value he places on his wicket and also his game awareness.”
Sharing some advice for Pant, Chopra added:
“If he calculates how many bowlers have how many overs left and plans accordingly, he can be more dangerous and consistent as well.”
Pant registered scores of 11, 18 and 56 in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, with Team India clean sweeping 3-0.
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There is likely to be a toss up between pacer Deepak Chahar and all-rounder Shardul Thakur for one of the slots in the playing XI during the T20I series.
Terming Thakur a good cricketer, Chopra picked Chahar as his choice. Giving reasons for the same, he said:
“Thakur is a valuable and versatile cricketer but Chahar is a wicket-taker and his strength is that he claims maximum wickets in the first six overs. In T20s, a captain needs a bowler who can claim 70 percent of his wickets in the powerplay. When you claim two wickets in the powerplay, the opponent is under greater pressure. I will definitely play Chahar.”
Thakur played the first two ODIs against West Indies and claimed two wickets. Chahar came in for the last match of the series. He contributed 38 with the bat and picked up two scalps.