Suryakumar Yadav has been a revelation in T20I cricket. Suryakumar’s unique strokeplay had bowlers scratching their heads as he ended up as the highest run-scores in T20Is last year. But Suryakumar’s two consecutive golden ducks against Australia in the three-ODI series have raised questions over his technique and whether he should at no.4 or not.
Suryakumar almost had identical displays in both ODIs. Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc’s in-swingers made him play across the line and get trapped in front of the stumps. Suryakumar stayed in the crease and tried to work the ball towards leg side in the second ODI as India suffered a batting collapse at the hands of in-form Starc.
Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has pointed out flaws in the 32-year-old’s batting and has advised him to spend time with the batting coach Vikram Rathour.
“He is facing technical difficulties. Also his stance is an open one. It is good for T20 cricket because any delivery that is overpitched, he can flick it for a six. But here, when the ball is placed right near the foot, with this stance, the bat will definitely come across. It cannot come straight. Hence, if the ball turns inside, he will face difficulty. He needs to spend time with the batting coach on how to come out of this," Gavaskar said while talking to Star Sports.
The Mumbai-born batter has been far from impressive in the One-Day format. He has scored 433 runs from 20 innings at an average of 25.47 including two half-centuries. His ODI average is inferior to his T20I average which is an impressive 46.52. Even when Suryakumar has got off to good starts, he has thrown his wicket away.
Suryakumar is not a regular in the playing eleven. In the absence of an injured Rishabh Pant who survived a horrific car accident and Shreyas Iyer who has been ruled out of action due to back injury, Suryakumar was sent at no.4 against Australia.
It will be interesting to see whether the team management persists with Suryakumar at no.4 in the series decider which will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on March 22.
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