"If Maxwell can approach ODI cricket like T20s, no one stops Suryakumar Yadav from having that approach" - Gautam Gambhir on SKY's poor ODI numbers

Gautam Gambhir wants Suryakumar Yadav to approach ODI cricket like T20s. He pointed out that Glenn Maxwell has enjoyed success in the longer white-ball format with a similar approach.

Suryakumar smashed 56 runs off 36 deliveries as India posted 180/7 in 19.3 overs in a rain-truncated second T20I against South Africa in Gqeberha on Tuesday, December 12. His knock went in vain as the hosts achieved the revised 15-over target of 152 with five wickets and seven deliveries to spare.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir was asked about Suryakumar becoming the fastest to 2000 T20I runs, in terms of deliveries faced, during his innings.

While observing that he doesn't want to criticize the unconventional batter, the former India opener opined that a similar aggressive approach would yield him good results even in ODI cricket, elaborating:

"I don't want to be someone who is going to be critical about Surya, but the most surprising thing is that he is so dangerous in T20 cricket but he hasn't shown that range in ODI cricket. Maxwell is as dangerous in ODI cricket as he is in T20 cricket."

Gambhir added:

"He scored a double hundred in the World Cup and the fastest hundred. However, if you check out Surya's career, there is a massive difference between ODI and T20 cricket. If Maxwell can approach ODI cricket like T20s, no one stops Suryakumar Yadav from having that approach."

Gambhir claimed that a change in mentality would help Suryakumar's cause in ODI cricket more than coaching of any sort. While acknowledging that the conditions and pressure were different in the ODI World Cup final, the cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted the massive difference in his batting as soon as he moved to the shortest format.

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"You were kept in the World Cup squad so that you can play such knocks" - Gautam Gambhir on Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav scored 18 runs off 28 deliveries in the 2023 World Cup final. [P/C: AP]

Gautam Gambhir pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav was picked in India's ODI World Cup squad to play impactful knocks. He said:

"At the most, you would fail and you would be dropped. You were kept in the World Cup squad so that you could play such knocks, that you could bring such an impact. I believe if Suryakumar Yadav gets a chance in 50-over cricket going forward, he needs to approach it like T20s."

Gambhir added that the same player cannot have a massive gulf between his T20I and ODI numbers. He stated:

"There is a huge difference in the graph between ODI and T20I cricket, there cannot be such a massive difference for the same player. I agree that you can lose form but that will happen in every format. I don't remember Suryakumar Yadav playing any such knock in ODI cricket."

Gambhir acknowledged that a player can take a few innings to adjust to the 50-over format. However, he highlighted that Suryakumar has been playing ODI cricket for a considerable while and that a different version of him might have been seen had he played even two or three knocks like he does in T20s.