Former India opener Wasim Jaffer believes middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav could be out of the ODI side if he fails to put on a good show in the upcoming series-deciding match against the West Indies, set to happen at Port of Spain on Tuesday.
Suryakumar has set the world of T20I cricket alight with his 360-degree strokeplay and is currently India’s vice-captain in the format. But he hasn’t found his groove in ODI cricket, especially in the first two ODIs against West Indies.
“I think he’ll get one more opportunity in the third ODI and that’s probably it. Then K.L. (Rahul) and Shreyas Iyer might come in (after recovering from injuries) and he’ll find it difficult to get into the side. The way he bats, he takes very high-risk options. He looks to hit boundaries; sometimes that’s what makes him lose his wicket,” Jaffer was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
In the first ODI, he was trapped lbw for 19 in an attempt to sweep left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie. In the second ODI on Saturday, he was dismissed for 24 after cutting straight to backward point off Motie. In 25 ODIs, Suryakumar’s average is just 23.8, including two half-centuries.
Jaffer feels Suryakumar hasn’t been able to develop the patience needed in playing ODIs.
“In the 50-over format, you need to take the game deep. That’s what Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and even Shikhar Dhawan did.”
“It’s his nature to take risky options. He needs to change that in this format. He can’t keep looking to hit boundaries every second-third ball. We see him do that time and again — getting a start and throwing his wicket away.”
Jaffer also felt Sanju Samson should have made the chance count of batting at number three in the second ODI, highlighting his struggles against leg-spinners being a cause for concern. Samson wasn’t in playing eleven for the first ODI and in the second ODI, was out for just nine off leg-spinner Yannic Cariah.
“It was a very good opportunity and you got the start. He came in at 90/1 and played himself in. It was a very soft dismissal. It looked like he didn’t pick the leg spin. He was shaping up to play the googly. We keep talking about that in the IPL, he struggles against leg spin and googly bowlers. Looks like it continues to be so.”
“When you are batting at the top of the order, you can’t be showing this kind of vulnerability against spin bowling. That question remains and obviously, he lost a very good opportunity,” he concluded.
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