Prior to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, India’s middle-order batter’s lackluster performance has drawn criticism. However, head coach Rahul Dravid has placed his support behind the player.
All eyes are still on India’s star-studded World Cup lineup, and head coach Rahul Dravid addressed one hitter whose recent performances have come under fire one day before the ODI series begins at home against Australia.
The top-ranked batsman in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings, Suryakumar Yadav, hasn’t been able to duplicate his skills in the 50-over format. He has amassed 537 runs in the format after 27 ODIs, with a best score of 64 and an average of 24.41.
Suryakumar made the World Cup roster despite only scoring two fifties in 25 innings and suffering many blatant dismissals in the 2023 Asia Cup. On Thursday, Dravid reinforced this decision by expressing his belief in the middle-order batter’s ability.
As countries have until September 28 to declare their World Cup rosters, Dravid emphasized, “We’ve picked our team for the World Cup and Surya is in it,” suggesting that there may not be any changes to India’s final World Cup 15.
“We fully support him and that was our choice to make.We support him since we have seen that he has a certain characteristic and talent. Indeed, we have now only seen it in Twenty20 cricket, but we are aware of the type of effect a player like him can have while batting at number six.
Prior to the World Cup, Suryakumar has three more One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Australia to establish some form, and Dravid is hoping he takes them.
“We’re certain that he can improve in these next three games. Once again, he is a player who will win these three matches, or at the very least the first two, in order to continue improving and developing as a one-day cricket player.
Notably, Suryakumar was removed for a first-ball duck in each of the three matches during the previous time India and Australia played in an ODI series, which took place in March of this year. Whether Suryakumar can utilize the series to get into India’s already-congested World Cup final starting XI is still to be seen.
Using Ishan Kishan as an example of a player who could be able to play two roles, Dravid asserted that the team will try to utilize the series against Australia to play batters in places where they would appear in the World Cup.
“We can’t force everyone to bat in precisely the same positions because two or three of them will most likely make the World Cup final 11,” Dravid said.