"You will come back to respect it" - Ravi Shastri on learning for Suryakumar Yadav

Ravi Shastri wants Suryakumar Yadav to respect the conditions and exercise a little more caution at the start of his innings in ODIs.

Suryakumar aggregated 44 runs in his three innings in the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand. He was caught at first slip while trying to play on the up away from his body in both the first and final ODIs.

During a post-series discussion on Prime Video, Shastri was asked about his thoughts on Suryakumar's similar mode of dismissals in the two games. He responded:

"That can happen. At times you might be in the best form of your life but you got to respect the conditions. This is a great game, it doesn't wait for anyone. You don't respect the conditions, sooner or later you will come back to respect it."

The former Indian coach feels India's Mr. 360 could be a little more circumspect when he walks out to bat in ODI cricket. He elaborated:

"What he can learn is that this is two-and-a-half times the size of a T20 game. He has got that many more balls to play. He can wait that bit longer. His USP is total devastation towards the end of the innings."

Shastri added that Suryakumar can get his eye in before pressing the accelerator, explaining:

"He has got ample time to reach 30-40 before that, with a lot more number of balls. In his case, it's a case of just giving himself that extra bit of time, that impact quality that's needed can wait a little bit because this game is a little bit longer."

Although Suryakumar was not prolific in the ODI series against the Kiwis, he scored his runs at an excellent strike rate of 115.78. The Mumbai Indians batter smashed an unbeaten 34 in the rain-truncated second game and was dismissed cheaply in the two matches India had a full quota of 50 overs to bat.

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"He is a smart cricketer" - Ravi Shastri on Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav plays shots all around the ground.

Shastri reckons Suryakumar will not find it difficult to make these minor adjustments to his game. He reasoned:

"It's nothing major. It's just a change in the mindset of the length of the game and the number of deliveries he has got to play. He would learn for it, he is a smart cricketer, we have seen that with the way he improvises, this is not difficult for him at all."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by stating that Suryakumar would not be required to make such tweaks to his game in subcontinental conditions that suit his batting and do not offer much assistance to the bowlers.