"They should not have changed his position" - Danish Kaneria urges Indian team management to back Suryakumar Yadav
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria believes that the Indian team management should back Suryakumar Yadav despite his underwhelming form in ODI cricket.
He expressed disappointment over Suryakumar's demotion in the batting order in the third ODI against Australia. To back up his statement, Kaneria highlighted that senior batter Virat Kohli also struggled for a considerable amount of time, but still held on to his No.3 position.
The 42-year-old suggested that skipper Rohit Sharma and the Indian think tank shattered Suryakumar's confidence by sending him lower down the order. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he explained:
"The Indian team management has not shown enough confidence when it comes to Suryakumar Yadav. They should not have changed his position. Even Virat Kohli took some time to come back to form, but his position didn't change. So why with Suryakumar Yadav?"
"The Indian team management is to blame for Suryakumar's golden ducks," he added. "It is Rohit Sharma's mistake as well. They demotivated him at a time when his confidence was already shattered. They should have motivated him and allowed him to bat at his position."
Notably, Suryakumar failed to get off the mark in the three-match ODI series between India and Australia. He bagged three back-to-back golden ducks. While he batted at No.4 in the first two fixtures, he was sent in to bat at No.7 in the final encounter.
Suryakumar Yadav will next be seen in action during IPL 2023
Suryakumar Yadav's recent performances in 50-over cricket have left many fans unimpressed while also putting his spot in India's ODI team in jeopardy.
However, he has performed exceptionally well in T20 cricket in the recent past and has a chance of roaring back to form when he returns to action in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).
The No.1 ranked T20I batter is expected to play a major role for his team Mumbai Indians (MI) in this year's cash-rich league.
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The Mumbai-based side will open their IPL 2023 campaign with a clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 2.
The five-time champions were the wooden spooners of the tournament last year, finishing with just four wins from 14 games.
Suryakumar played just eight matches last season due to a forearm muscle injury. He mustered 303 runs at an average of 43.28 before being ruled out.