Former Sri Lankan captain on Suryakumar Yadav’s exclusion from ODI playing XI: “I feel he should play, he is different to other batters"

Dinesh Chandimal reckons that Team India must find a place for Suryakumar Yadav in their ODI team. According to the former Sri Lankan captain, Suryakumar is different from other batters and can change the course of a match even with a 30 or a 50.

Suryakumar, 32, has become an indispensable part of Team India’s T20 squad. He has played 45 matches in the format, smashing 1578 runs at an average of 46.41 and a stupendous strike rate of 180.34, with three hundreds and 13 fifties.

The Mumbai batter has, however, failed to replicate his heroics in the ODI format. Although he is part of the squad for the ongoing home series against Sri Lanka, he did not feature in the first two matches. Sharing his views on Suryakumar's exclusion from Team India’s playing XI in one-dayers, Chandimal told PTI:

"Looking at this Indian team, it shows how much strength is there in the bench. I still feel Surya can play in the middle order in this Indian team.

"He is different to other batters. You need a guy like him in the middle-order. He can change the game by just scoring 30 to 50 runs. Opposition team can be frustrated with the speed at which he scores. I still feel he should play in ODIs.”

Having made his ODI debut in July 2021, Suryakumar has so far featured in 16 matches in the format, scoring 384 runs at an average of 32 and a strike rate of 100.52, with two half-centuries. He has the highest score of 34* in his last nine ODI knocks.

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“Where do you fit him?" - Wasim Jaffer on Suryakumar Yadav’s ODI selection conundrum

Chipping in with his thoughts on Suryakumar’s exclusion from the ODI team, former India opener Wasim Jaffer recently stated that it is difficult to fit him into the team in the current set-up.

He pointed out that Shreyas Iyer cannot be dropped, while KL Rahul also becomes an automatic choice since he keeps wickets. Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo:

"Yes you want all your in-form players to feature in the side, but where do you fit him? The only possible option is in place of Shreyas Iyer but he deserves to be in the playing XI given the form he is in.

If Ishan Kishan would have played, then you could have played him in place of KL Rahul, but if your keeper is Rahul, then the only option is Shreyas Iyer. But I feel Shreyas Iyer should get a long rope first."

Shreyas produced excellent numbers in one-dayers in 2022, scoring 724 runs in 15 innings at an average of 55.69, with one hundred and six fifties.