“Really unfortunate that he could only play three balls” - Rohit Sharma on Suryakumar Yadav’s horror series

Team India captain Rohit Sharma said that Suryakumar Yadav was very unfortunate to register golden ducks in all three games of the ODI series against Australia at home. He opined that too much cannot be read into the batter’s performance, as he played so few deliveries.

The 32-year-old Suryakumar was trapped by Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc in the first two ODIs. He was under immense pressure to retain his place in the team for the decider in Chennai. The management backed him, but he was again dismissed first ball, this time against left-arm spinner Ashton Agar off a skidder.

Yadav's woeful form, in injured Shreyas Iyer’s absence, hurt India’s fortunes, as they lost the third ODI by 21 runs to concede the series 2-1. At a press conference following the defeat, Rohit opened up on Suryakumar’s forgettable performance with the willow:

“He played only three balls in the series. I don’t know how much you can look into it. He got three good balls. Today, (Wednesday) I didn’t think it was that great a ball. He just chose the wrong shot. He should have, maybe, come forward. He knows best.

“He plays spin so well, which is why we wanted to hold him back and give him that role of last 15-20 overs. But it’s really unfortunate that he could only play three balls in the series. That can happen to anyone. The potential, the quality is always there. He’s just going through that phase right now.”

Having made his one-day debut in July 2021, Suryakumar has featured in 23 games in the format, scoring 433 runs at a poor average of 24.05.

---

“Didn’t want our right-handers to get stuck” - Rohit on Axar Patel batting ahead of Suryakumar Yadav

In their pursuit of 270, India promoted Axar Patel to No. 5, while Suryakumar came out to bat at No. 7.

The ploy did not work, though, as Axar was run out for two. Asked about the rationale behind the change in batting order, Rohit explained that it was a tactical move, elaborating:

“When KL (Rahul) and Virat (Kohli) were batting, they (Australia) were operating a leggie and a left-arm spinner. Surya was slotted to go in at five. But we thought the ball is taking some turn, and we didn’t want our right-handers to get stuck, which is why we wanted a left-hander.

“Axar, being in the form that he is, we wanted to ask him to go in and bat the way he does and take the spinners on. Then Hardik is obviously the best player at No. 6. We wanted to keep him there and see between Surya and Jadeja, who we can ask to go before.”

Kohli (54) and Rahul (32) added 69 runs for the third wicket. However, India lost their way after the partnership was broken and were bowled out for 248.