Suryakumar Yadav is undoubtedly one of India’s best-ever T20 batters. The X-factor he brings in is truly unmatchable. In fact, no other full-member nation player is near close to Suryakumar’s 2326 runs he has scored since 2022. Here, we are talking about players with a better strike rate than 150 and SKY has managed to do this at a SR of almost 170. Nearest to him is Jos Buttler, who has made 1420 runs. But while everyone appreciates the T20 player he is, his ODI dream could remain unfulfilled, it seems. His ICC Champions Trophy aspirations might take a hit.
ODI dream over for Suryakumar Yadav?
Suryakumar Yadav was part of India’s bittersweet campaign at the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. While India were unbeaten till the final, Suryakumar wasn’t the reason for that. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid had him due to his remarkable attributes but SKY failed to do anything, scoring 106 runs at an average of 17.67. He even faced the wrath for India’s failure to score a decent score in the summit clash against Australia.
Despite this, the Indian T20I captain has time and again put forward his desire to represent India in all three formats. Hence, he would definitely eye a spot in the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy. There is surely a middle-order spot vacant at number four, with the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, and Rishabh Pant eyeing for that position. But Suryakumar’s recent form hasn’t helped his cause.
No ICC Champions Trophy spot for Suryakumar
In the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy game against Punjab, Suryakumar recorded an unwanted duck. He was undone by Arshdeep Singh, who claimed a brilliant fifer to rattle Shreyas Iyer’s Mumbai. This means SKY is now having a poor record in the ongoing VHT, scoring just 38 runs at an average of 12.67. Even in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Suryakumar fared okayish, mustering 132 runs in 5 innings at an average and SR of 26.40 and 132.00, respectively.
Star players like Suryakumar Yadav should capitalise on domestic games as much as possible. You see Hardik Pandya dominating SMAT quite superbly, Shreyas Iyer hammering runs left, right, and centre, and now Arshdeep Singh is taking 12 wickets in his last 6 appearances. In total, Suryakumar has made just 100 runs in his last 7 knocks, three of which came in the 50-over format.
Last 7 innings for Suryakumar Yadav
| Runs | Date | Location | Format | Match-Up |
| 4 | 05-Dec-2024 | Hyderabad | T20 | Mumbai vs Andhra |
| 9 | 11-Dec-2024 | Alur | T20 | Mumbai vs Vidarbha |
| 1 | 13-Dec-2024 | Bengaluru | T20 | Mumbai vs Baroda |
| 48 | 15-Dec-2024 | Bengaluru | T20 | Mumbai vs M. Pradesh |
| 20 | 21-Dec-2024 | Ahmedabad | List A | Mumbai vs Karnataka |
| 18 | 23-Dec-2024 | Ahmedabad | List A | Mumbai vs Hyderabad |
| 0 | 28-Dec 2024 | Ahmedabad | List A | Mumbai vs Punjab |
