"Use him more as an explosive lower-order batter" - Sanjay Manjrekar on how Suryakumar Yadav fits into the Indian ODI Team ahead of World Cup 2023
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar dissected T20 Superstar Suryakumar Yadav's ODI struggles and his potential role in the Indian team on the road to the 50-over World Cup at home later this year.
Despite being the top-ranked T20I batter in the world, the 32-year-old has struggled to replicate similar form in the 50-over format. Surya averages a mere 24.05 in 23 ODIs with no centuries and only two half-centuries to his name.
This includes a dubious hattrick of ducks in his last three ODIs in the home series against Australia earlier this year.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo on a three-part series of India's roadmap to the 2023 ODI World Cup, Manjrekar said:
"If you want to use Suryakumar Yadav, use him more as an explosive a lower-order batter. I don't know what the reason is for his failures but eventually, if you keep giving him chances, he'll be able to find that gear. I don't think Suryakumar Yadav has only one gear, we've seen him hit a lot of ground shots, so he's got all the gears.
"But if at all India wants to use him as a lower-order batter, I wonder how many times you'll need that kind of explosive batting in 50 Overs cricket."
Despite his dismal ODI form, Surya had another sensational IPL season for the Mumbai Indians (MI), scoring 605 runs at an average of 43.21 and a 181.14 strike rate.
However, his returns in the 50-over format have dwindled even further this year, as he averages a dreary 8.16 in seven games.
"Don't want to do anything that might just set him off his tracks in T20 cricket" - Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar also hoped Suryakumar Yadav's inexplicable ODI form does not hamper his incredible run in the shortest format.
The 32-year-old boasts other-worldly numbers in T20I, averaging 46.52 at a strike rate of 175.76 in 48 matches, including three centuries. Surya also starred in last year's T20I World Cup, scoring 239 runs at an average of 59.75 and a 189.68 strike rate.
Addressing Yadav's success in T20s, Manjrekar said:
"The thing with Suryakumar Yadav is that he is such a great T20 batter, you don't want to do anything that might just set him off his tracks in T20 cricket where he is reaching batting excellence, like a batter of the future.
"And we saw after those ducks that he got, the first ball ducks, it took him a while to get into T20 form as well. So that is how I am going to look at Suryakumar Yadav than just his recent form and whether he deserves to be part of the 50-Over Indian team."
Despite enjoying an excellent IPL season, Surya started his campaign with his miserable ODI form spilling into his T20 game. The explosive right-hander scored a mere 16 runs at an average of 5.33 and a strike rate of 84 in the opening three games.
The 50-over World Cup gets underway in India on October 5.