"If he is not in that side, then every other side around the world is doing a little dance" - Scott Styris on Suryakumar Yadav's place in India's XI
Scott Styris believes the opposition teams will be extremely delighted if Suryakumar Yadav is not a part of India's limited-overs sides.
Suryakumar played a blazing 117-run knock in the final T20I against England, although it came in a losing cause. The Mumbaikar, however, could not play a substantial knock in the two innings he played in the following three-match ODI series against the same opponents.
During an interaction on Sports 18, Styris was asked if the Indian think tank will ask Suryakumar Yadav to play the upcoming ODIs against West Indies as an extension of T20 cricket or treat it like a World Cup game for next year. He replied:
"There are very few people on this planet who are bigger fans of SKY than what I am, I can tell you that right now. If he is not in that side, then every other side around the world is just doing a little dance."
Styris added that almost everyone agrees that the Mumbai Indians (MI) man should be one of the first players picked in India's limited-overs lineup. The former New Zealand all-rounder reasoned:
"It was pleasing for me when everyone said that he should be one of the first guys picked and I can understand why. I think he has got real game-winning potential, that's what you are after, you want players who can win matches on their own."
Reece Topley said "The knock by Suryakumar Yadav deserves to be on the winning side, he played some amazing shots which I haven't seen in cricket - I don't know how he played that shots".
Suryakumar has an exceptional record in T20I cricket, having smashed 537 runs at an excellent average of 38.35 and an outstanding strike rate of 177.22 in the 19 matches he has played. Although he has an impressive average of 44.28 in ODIs as well, he will want to be slightly more consistent in that format.
"He should be the No. 4" - Scott Styris on Suryakumar Yadav
Styris feels Suryakumar Yadav is fighting with the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson for the No. 4 position in the Indian batting order. He elaborated:
"It's the other names around, you have got Rohit, KL Rahul and Kohli - so the front three are taken. So there is a real squeeze where he fits in. I think he should be the No. 4 but he is up against the likes of Shreyas Iyer and the Sanju Samsons."
The cricketer-turned-analyst concluded by observing that the 31-year-old's experience of having delivered the goods on the big stage should hold him in good stead. Styris explained:
"It's about form and it's about making sure that you are the guy that has the match-winning performances under your belt. No pressure situations get to him, that is true. He plays for Mumbai, and therefore he is used to dealing with big pressure in big games in front of big crowds and that's what I like about him."
"I'm learnt a lot from Rohit Sharma. The way he's leading the team and batting. He backs me a lot and he shows a lot of confidence in me. In my bad patch, he is the one who backs me a lot." - Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav has amassed 2036 runs at a decent average of 33.37 and an impressive strike rate of 138.31 in the 69 IPL matches he has played for the Mumbai Indians. The five-time champions were hit hard in IPL 2022 as their premier batter missed quite a few matches due to multiple injuries.