T20 World Cup 2021: Is playing Suryakumar Yadav at no.5 a good move?
For the umpteenth time in his career, Suryakumar Yadav's position in a T20 team is under scrutiny.
When the 31-year-old was signed by the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of IPL 2018, many were confused as to why the franchise were bringing another 'finisher' to their team. But MI didn't consider him a slogger and instead gave him a chance at no.4.
Suryakumar Yadav did well but the franchise felt he could do better so Rohit Sharma shunted himself down the order and made way for him to open alongside Evin Lewis. Many onlookers were confused by this too. But Suryakumar Yadav fared even better - 512 runs at 36.57 striking at 133.33 in IPL 2018.
The doubts were resolved and despite the shifts in his batting position, Suryakumar Yadav became a major cog in the Mumbai Indians' juggernaut that ensued. The right-hander scaled newer heights, made his way to the Indian team and even got selected for a T20 World Cup within three years.
But some shticks never leave. Once again, Suryakumar Yadav's position is in doubt. The reason? He had his third-worst season in the IPL in terms of average in 2021 and failed in a warm-up game against England on Monday.
Here's what former Pakistan captain Salman Butt said in a video on his YouTube channel earlier on Tuesday:
“Suryakumar Yadav’s flow is not the same as what we saw in Sri Lanka. Even in the IPL, if we take out the one innings in the final match of the UAE leg, he did not play a fluent knock in any of the other matches. If concerns over his form remain, Ishan Kishan can replace him in the playing XI. He has been in scintillating form. I feel if India have to pick between Suryakumar and Ishan, they should go with the latter on current form. He can play game-changing knocks.”
When we talk about the Mumbai Indians and their masterstroke of ushering in a rather unknown player like Suryakumar Yadav into their top order, we forget that the five-time IPL champions weren't the ones to make him a finished product. They only gave him the perfect mold by allowing him to take his time and asking for consistency in return.
The first team to put forward Suryakumar Yadav's ability on the big stage was Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). They didn't do it by playing him at no.3 or 4 - they already had seniors occupying those spots. KKR did it by playing him at no.7. You read it right, at a spot where India is still searching for an all-rounder, KKR played a pure batter.
But why? The answer lies in the upshot.
At that position, not only did Suryakumar Yadav score at his second-best strike rate in the IPL (160.28), but also his second-best average of 37.67.
At no.7, he rarely had time to settle in. All he did was bring out his ingenious lap shots, sweeps and scoops from the first ball. He was so good with those that at one time, he was considered KKR's answer to Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) AB de Villiers. And it was those cameos of 34, 12 and 20 that won KKR their second IPL title in 2014.
What it shows is that while Suryakumar Yadav is no doubt a brilliant top-order batter, he is no bunny as a finisher either.
At no.5, he doesn't have the role of plundering runs in the powerplay before going big against the spinners. Nor is he being asked to go all out against whoever the opponent throws. Instead, he is being invited to a sweet spot that is perhaps best suited to him.
At no.5, nine out of 10 times he'll come out to bat against spinners, which is his well-documented forte. Once he gets set, he'll have the support of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja behind him and thus the license to bring out the 2014 version.
Remember how no.7 was Suryakumar Yadav's second-best IPL position in terms of average and strike rate? At no.5 he has played just five games but in those, he has struck the ball at 179.01 with an average of 48.33 - his best numbers in the league.
One good innings Salman Butt talked about above came against SunRisers Hyderabad in the Mumbai Indians' final match of IPL 2021. He scored a 40-ball 82, including 13 boundaries and three maximums. That knock, too, came at no.5.
Is Ishan Kishan better suited in the middle order than Suryakumar Yadav?
.@ishankishan51 is dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground 💥💥
The #TeamIndia left-hander brings up a quickfire 5️⃣0️⃣
India - 123/1 now
#T20WorldCup #INDvENG
📸: Getty Images https://t.co/sOkmrrXSwu
Like Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan too struggled for form in IPL 2021. In fact, the young wicketkeeper-batter had to be dropped because his runs dried out completely as the season went on. But like Mumbai Indians always do, they give Kishan another chance, this time as an opener.
In that same game against SRH, Kishan pipped over Suryakumar Yadav for the Player of the Match award because he took MI off to a flyer with his 84 runs that came at an unbelievable strike rate of 262.50.
Kishan is in the T20 World Cup squad only as a "backup opener" and for good reason. In the IPL, he scores at an average of over 55 at the top of the order. This comes down to 19.64 for no.3, 29.00 for no.4 and even lower for the next two positions. He averages 33 at no.7, but that's after just two games. Kishan's electric half-century on international debut had also come as an opener.
Thrusting him down the order would only be playing with fire by muddling his role in the team. At the age of 23, he's doing enough to give Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul a run for their money. But that's only possible because he's getting the pink slip to gain confidence early in the powerplay - something he often requires more than other batters - and then feast on the spinners later.
Suryakumar Yadav too good to fail for long
All. The. 𝔽𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕤. ♥️ https://t.co/DOezc2s3WX
Here, have a look at all English T20 World Cup commentator you will hear this season.
A major chunk of doubt over Suryakumar Yadav's ability arose after his nine-ball eight against England in Dubai. There is more than one reason behind why that failure is likely to be a one-off and doesn't merit reading into much.
For one, Suryakumar Yadav was sent to bat (at no.5) in the 16th over just for "hit and try" purposes. He wouldn't have batted ahead of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja in that situation had it been a non-warmup game.
Second, the pitch wasn't the easiest to bat on against pacers, at least for batters who were playing their first game only after a few hours of practice at the venue. Ishan Kishan was dropped thrice against pacers, Hardik Pandya struggled at the start of his innings and Rishabh Pant, who finished the game, had got into a rhythm against spinners by the time pacers came back on at the death.
And finally, Suryakumar Yadav got out playing a misjudged ramp shot - a mistake he's too good to not correct the next time he faces Chris Jordan.
At no.5, Suryakumar Yadav is not a liability. He's a match-winner, biding his time, adjusting, adapting, revving up his engine. He's melding his consistency with his finishing prowess and waiting to unleash it together. He can take another warm-up game or two to reach that level. He's India's best bet for no.5.