‘This game will only bite’: Former cricketer on Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form

Aggressive India batter Suryakumar Yadav endured a forgettable ODI series against Australia recently, as he registered three golden ducks off as many ODIs at home. SKY, as he is affectionately called, had ended up as the top run-scorer in T20Is in 2022, amassing 1164 runs from 31 ODIs, but has been unable to recreate that magic into the ODIs this year.

India missed the currently-injured Shreyas Iyer against Australia, and Suryakumar was given with the responsibility to fill in Iyer’s spot. While Yadav was dismissed by Mitchell Starc in the first two matches, Ashton Agar claimed the batter’s wicket in the series-decider in Chennai.

SKY was even demoted to No 7 in the third ODI, a move that was a ‘huge blunder’ by the Indian team management, according to former cricketer Ajay Jadeja.

“He’s the same Suryakumar Yadav who scored 360 degrees across the ground. It isn’t as if he doesn’t know how to play. It’s all about the mindset. When someone like Virat Kohli faced so many months out of form, it means there’s something in the mind that affects your game. If you’re thinking too much, and you’re making the player wait for his batting, the doubt only increases,” Jadeja was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

The 52-year-old further stated why playing SKY at No 7 did not help India’s case. “In our days, it used to be said that if someone isn’t in form, and if he plays at no.4 and you send him at no.7, it will always be more challenging. You will always feel more comfortable when you bat up the order. When you come at no.7, whatever strength you have in your batting, you’ve already lost 60-80 percent of it. You haven’t made it any easier. You can only regain form when you play ahead. You can’t save anyone. If you try to save someone, this game will only bite you more,” Jadeja added.

The 32-year-old has played lesser ODIs than compared to T20Is. In 23 matches he has played so far, Suryakumar has managed just 433 runs at an average of 24.05.

This year is crucial for both Suryakumar and Team India, with an ODI World Cup at home scheduled to begin in about six months’ time.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.