"When he wears  Mumbai Indians colors, he is a different player" - Dinesh Karthik backs Suryakumar Yadav to bounce back in IPL 2023

Dinesh Karthik believes that Suryakumar Yadav will turn things around in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) despite a lean patch in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia.

He pointed out that Suryakumar has been one of the top performers in the shortest format, and is bound to get a lot of confidence when he returns to T20 cricket with the IPL.

Speaking about the player's dismal outings in the three-match ODI series against Australia, Karthik emphasized that every cricketer goes through such phases at some point.

Here's what Karthik said about Suryakumar while speaking to Cricbuzz:

"It has happened to every batter. It is very interesting to know that Ajit Agarkar was on-air when Suryakumar Yadav's third dismissal happened. He has gone through this phase where he has had a few ducks. Every batter goes through this.

"Everybody feels for him because of the kind of talent he possesses, but T20 is a different format, and he is a different beast in that format. So when he wears Mumbai Indians colours, he is a different player. He'll only get confidence walking into that dressing room knowing that that's the format he's aced in the last couple of years."

During the same discussion, former fast bowler Zaheer Khan suggested that Suryakumar will have to move on from the recent failures. He opined that the 32-year-old must remain positive, as he is just one good innings away from regaining his lost mojo, adding:

"You don't often see these kinds of numbers with such players. But it's happened, that's a fact. As a cricketer, you just have to move on. You're always one innings away from your form or your best innings.

"That's the way you should approach the game. I think it's just about finding that positivity. It's important that he just shakes off this whole series. If you have a delete-enter button, find that very soon, and then just move on. It's just three good deliveries getting you out."

Notably, Suryakumar Yadav failed to get off the mark in any of the games of the recently concluded ODI series against the Aussies. The right-handed batter bagged three successive golden ducks, putting his place in the Men in Blue's 50-over team in jeopardy.

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"India need to be aware of the options they have for No.4 if Shreyas Iyer is not fit" - Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik further expressed concerns over India's No.4 position with the 50-over World Cup in sight. He noted that Shreyas Iyer is expected to play in the position once he recovers from a back injury.

He, however, mentioned that the Indian team management will have to identify other players who can fill Iyer's shoes if he is unavailable for the all-important ICC ODI World Cup, which begins in India in November.

Karthik elaborated:

"India need to be aware of the options they have for No.4 if Shreyas Iyer is not fit. That they need to be ready with. If Iyer is fit, it is obvious that he will walk into this team and deserves to be the No.4. If he is not there, what are they going to do and how is the batting order going to look like?"

Suryakumar will next be seen in action during the impending season of the cash-rich league, where he will ply his trade for the Mumbai Indians (MI). The tournament is set to kick off on March 31.