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Team India captain Rohit Sharma surprised most followers of Indian cricket when he opted to leave Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav out of the playing XI for the first ODI against Sri Lanka on January 10 (Tuesday). Kishan scored the fastest double century in 5-over international cricket during India's last ODI game of 2022 while Suryakumar Yadav whacked a stunning century in the Men in Blue's third T20I match against the Islanders. But for some strange reasons, Rohit and the Indian management decided to keep both Mumbai Indians' batters on the bench.
On current form, Suryakumar is probably the best white-ball batter in India right now and the decision to not include him in the playing XI was baffling. Former India chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth was among the many pundits who disagreed with Indian management's decision to leave Suryakumar out of the playing XI. The former India cricketer even offered an apology to the Mumbaikar on live TV as he felt bad.
"And Surya, I'm so sorry, I feel bad for you my friend. Suryakumar Yadav not there in the team? You look at the top five and ask, who are the impact players there? Who are the guys who can take the game away from the opposition?" Srikkanth said on Star Sports.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who was part of the same commentary panel, understood why India opted to not play Suryakumar but found it hard to fathom why Kishan was not included.
"I can understand their logic for not going Surya as all the great innings that we have seen from him have come in T20Is. Shubman Gill is getting a long run but why give the same run to Kishan? He got a double hundred. He will bring the left and right-hand combination. I am always disappointed when India don't pick Kuldeep Yadav. In 50-overs cricket, I will always have him. You saw the impact he had in Bangladesh Tests," Manjrekar said.
