The curious case of Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, and Sarfaraz Khan: Why aren't they playing a lot more for India?
India’s new batting stars Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, and Sanju Samson will perhaps walk into any international cricket team. But in India, they need to exhibit patience and maintain composure to stake a claim. For now, they are within their rights to consider themselves ‘very unlucky’ to not make it to the playing XI of Team India across formats.
What more should the quadruple comprising Suryakumar, Shaw, Sarfaraz, and Samson do to convince the selection committee to get picked in tests, ODIs, and T20Is?
It shows how difficult it is to get a place in the Indian side due to stiff competition for places. However, that is just one side of the coin.
Sensational Suryakumar Yadav
After Suryakumar’s undefeated 112-run knock against Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I of the three-match bilateral series, prominent sports writer and author Pradeep Magazine expressed surprise as to why the Mumbai batter is not a permanent fixture in all three formats, tweeting:
“I can't believe that the phenomenal SKY (Surya Kumar Yadav) is not an automatic choice for the Indian team across all formats. What are the selectors waiting for?"
I can't believe that the phenomenal SKY (Surya Kumar Yadav) is not an automatic choice for the Indian team across all formats. What are the selectors waiting for?
Earlier, former Indian batter Krishnamachari Srikkanth also felt bad for Suryakumar after he was not included in India's playing XI for the first ODI against Sri Lanka. But Wasim Jaffar, another former Test batter, had asked where Suryakumar could fit in.
Suryakumar's three centuries in T20Is, one each against England, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka, have demonstrated his skill and ability at the highest level against quality bowling in different conditions.
His domestic first-class record is not bad either. He has amassed more than 5,000 runs in India’s first-class cricket at a decent average of 45 with the help of 14 centuries.
In T20Is, the batter averages an incredible strike rate of 180. No wonder his admirers often refer to him as India’s Mr. 360 or the Indian version of South African great AB de Villiers.
What about Prithvi Shaw?
In a recent Ranji Trophy game against Assam in Guwahati, Shaw smashed 379 runs off 383 balls at an impressive strike rate of nearly a hundred. Shaw’s knock was studded with 49 boundaries and four sixes.
The 23-year-old has done everything within the realm of possibility to attract the attention of the national selectors. But it seems they want more from the youngster, who has amassed 3623 runs in 41 first-class matches, with 12 centuries and 15 fifties to his name.
In List-A cricket, Shaw averages 53 with 2627 runs from 53 matches, scoring eight centuries in the process. He also has a hundred in T20 cricket, where his strike rate reads 152.
However, it so appears that his 21 centuries across formats is not enough to convince the national selectors of his unique ability to take the game away from the opposition. At a very young age, Shaw displayed his tremendous skills with the bat when he scored 546 runs off only 330 balls. He was just 14 at the time.
Frustrated at his non-inclusion, Shaw has time and again written some cryptic posts on his Instagram page.
The story of Sarfaraz Khan is no different
Sarfaraz averages 80 in first-class cricket with 3352 runs from 35 matches. By scoring 12 centuries and nine fifties, Sarfaraz has proved that his conversion rate is superb. He has been in a form of his life over the past 18 months or so.
Since his return to Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, Sarfaraz has compiled eight centuries, including one triple and two double tons. To say that he is going through a golden period in the Indian domestic cricket circuit would be an understatement.
His average in first-class cricket is often compared to Sir Don Bradman’s. That in itself is a tribute to the abilities of the 24-year-old.
Silky Sanju
Born in Trivandrum, Sanju Samson is someone whose strokes look pleasing to the eye. With over 3,000 runs in first-class cricket, laced with 10 centuries, Samson is no mug with the bat. That he is a keeper-batter adds value to his stature as a player.
Whatever few opportunities Samson got in ODIs, he showcased his skill set and telegraphed the message that he belongs to international cricket. In 11 ODIs, the young and dynamic cricketer from Kerala has scored 330 runs at an average of 66 and a strike rate of 105.
Despite such performances, Samson is not a regular in the Indian ODI side. He gets limited chances when players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul are rested.
Samson's batting looks so effortless. He doesn’t hit the ball, he times it. There is lazy elegance involved, a shade of Pakistan legend Inzamam-ul-Haq in some of his strokes.
It appears that all four gentlemen will have to wait a touch longer to cement their batting positions in all formats of the game.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was candid when he said that Suryakumar was a “good headache” to have. But then there are players like Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, and Deepak Hooda who have done no wrong to deserve an ouster.
Perhaps Suryakumar, Shaw, Sarfaraz, and Samson need to show a little more patience and keep knocking on the door till it opens for good.