Where is Suryakumar Yadav in Test? Why is he dropped after just 1 innings? Fans bombarded social media with questions after Suryakumar was unceremoniously axed without even getting proper opportunity in Tests. All he got was 1 inning and 20 balls. The lack of vision of the team management and the BCCI selectors was so profound that even when Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped from IND vs WI squad, it was not SKY, instead, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Yashasvi Jaiswal were called up.
The reason? A senior BCCI official explained to InsideSport that it is more to do with World Cup 2023 than the West Indies tour. Suryakumar has retained his place in the ODI squad despite dismal run.
“It’s obvious that if Surya was in the squad, he would have played ahead of Ruturaj or Yashasvi. And the team wants to try someone new. But Surya is not out of Test plans yet. He is a very important player with Asia Cup and World Cup coming up so, he must focus on white-ball cricket for now. He will get his chance,” the BCCI official explained.
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Is there a place for Suryakumar Yadav in World Cup 2023 Playing XI?
- It’s no secret that SKY received immense backing to make the middle-order spot his own.
- But he could never replicate his T20 success in ODIs.
- In 21 innings, he could only average 24.05, scoring just two half-centuries.
- His two primary competitors — Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson — have done everything to nose ahead.
- With KL Rahul set to return as a keeper-batter in Asia Cup and World Cup, SKY will only have three ODIs to stake claims in the WC squad.
- To put it bluntly, Samson and Axar Patel have been more effective as a pacer of the innings in chase than SKY.
Tests are where the team management has to plan for the next WTC cycle. With Rishabh Pant still far away from complete recovery, India need a middle-order dictator who can take on the bowling attack.
“See, Surya is a very capable batter, one of the best in the world at present. But he is also 32 and we have to plan for the future. That is where someone like Yashasvi or Ruturaj comes in. They are clean strikers of the ball, and can dictate pace. If they can prove their mettle, it will be great for Indian cricket,” the official explained.
For now, Suryakumar will play red-ball cricket, albeit in the Duleep Trophy for West Zone. He will continue to hone his red-ball skills.
India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
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