The cricketing world never shies away from debate, and the latest buzz revolves around Suryakumar Yadav's inclusion in the Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2023. Despite his undeniable prowess in the T20 format, his ODI performances have been underwhelming. Tom Moody, the former SRH coach, voiced his skepticism regarding Yadav's selection in a conversation with Star Sports.
Until August 2023, Yadav's ODI statistics read as 511 runs in 24 innings from 26 matches, averaging 24.33. These numbers, particularly his 2023 average of 14 runs from 10 ODIs, have made his position in the team contentious, especially with the ODI World Cup on the horizon. Yet, to the surprise of many, he found a spot in the Asia Cup 2023 squad, featuring stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya.
While dissecting the team's composition, Moody remarked on Star Sports, "The player that I think is lucky to be in that side is Suryakumar Yadav. I know that he's a player that we all love to watch, but he is yet to really master the 50-over game. I think he's played over 20 matches now and at a very modest return."
Highlighting the disparity between Yadav's T20 and ODI performances, Moody didn't mince words. He said, "He's a genius in T20 cricket. But the 50-over cricket is a completely different format, and he's yet to really crack the code for that. You know, I just don't think he's gonna do it at the last minute."
Furthermore, Moody presented alternative options that the management could've considered, such as integrating budding talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal or even introducing an additional wrist spinner to the squad. "And to me, there are better options. Uh, available. Uh, I would have much rather seen a younger player like a Jaiswal in that side. Or take that position, and play a wrist spinner. Um, you know another wrist spinner."
As the cricket community continues to speculate, it remains to be seen whether Suryakumar Yadav will silence critics with a standout performance in the upcoming Asia Cup matches.
India's squad for Asia Cup 2023:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
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