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Suryakumar Yadav has been facing harsh criticism after recording three consecutive golden ducks in the recently-concluded ODI series against Australia. Many have said that Sanju Samson should replace Suryakumar for the ODI World Cup at home this year but India’s first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev is of different opinion.
“A cricketer who has played so well will always get more chances. Don’t compare Surya with Sanju Samson, it doesn’t seem right. If Sanju goes through a bad phase then you will talk about somebody else,” Dev was quoted as saying by ABP news.
“This should not happen. If the team management has decided to back Suryakumar Yadav then he should be given more chances. Yes, people will talk, and give their opinion but ultimately it’s the management’s call,” he added.
Suryakumar got off to near-identical deliveries in the first and second ODI by Mitchell Starc. The left-arm pacer bowled in-swingers on both occasions to trap Surya in front of the stumps. He was demoted down the order in the decider. This time he got dismissed by left-arm spinner Ashton Agar. While few criticised the moved to demote him, Dev feels that there was nothing wrong with it.
“It’s very easy to talk after the match is finished. Maybe the idea behind sending Suryakumar at No.7 was to give him an opportunity as a finisher. This (shuffling of the batting order) is nothing new in ODIs. This has happened many times before,” the 64-year-old opined.
“Yes, at times it can happen that a batter’s confidence is dented if he has been dragged down the order. But the onus rests on the player to tell his captain that ‘I can handle myself in the top order.’ The coach and captain must have taken the decision with particular thinking.”
Samson who has been out of the side due to knee injury, has scored 330 runs from 10 ODI innings at an average of 66 including two half-centuries. On the other hand, India's T20I superstar, Surya has scored 433 runs from 21 innings at an average of 24.05 including two half-centuries.
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