Indian star batter Suryakumar Yadav’s poor run of form in ODIs has forced fans to revert back to Sanju Samson, who enjoys a much better record in the format. However former India captain Kapil Dev believes it is not right for fans to compare between the two players. He feels that fans should trust the management.
Suryakumar Yadav recently made the headlines for all the wrong reasons as he became the first player to get dismissed on a golden duck in three consecutive matches. India even lost the series against Australia and fans are asking several questions.
SKY has been a tremendous T20 cricketer for India and rightfully holds the no.1 ranking in the shortest format of the game. But he has not managed to replicate that form into ODIs. He featured in all three matches against Australia after Shreyas Iyer was out with back injury.
Most fans cannot believe why Samson is being ignore by the management even after him recovering fully from his knee injury.
However Kapil Dev has rubbished all the talk regarding Samson and said that Suryakumar has done enough to get more chances and people should trust the management. “A cricketer who has played so well will always get more chances. Don’t compare Surya with Sanju Samson, it doesn’t seem right. If Sanju goes through a bad phase then you will talk about somebody else,” he told ABP news.
“This should not happen. If the team management has decided to back Suryakumar Yadav then he should be given more chances. Yes, people will talk, give their opinion but ultimately it’s the management’s call,” he added.
The Mumbai based batter has scored 49 runs in six ODIs this year at an average of 8.17 striking at 116.67.
SKY was demoted to No.7 in India’s third and final ODI against Australia in the just concluded series. However he was dismissed first ball by Ashton Agar. There were criticisms on his change in position from No.4 to 7. However Kapil Dev believes that maybe he can be a finisher for India.
“It’s very easy to talk after the match is finished. Maybe the idea behind sending Suryakumar at No.7 was to give him an opportunity as a finisher. This (shuffling of the batting order) is nothing new in ODIs.”
He further added that it rests upon the player and his self belief to convince the coach and the captain that he is good enough to manuever the threat present and steer India home eventually. “This has happened many times before. Yes, at times it can happen that a batter’s confidence is dented if he has been dragged down the order. But the onus rests on the player to tell his captain that ‘I can handle myself in the top order.’ The coach and captain must have taken the decision with particular thinking,” he concluded.
With the World Cup right around the corner, India haven’t confirmed their No.4 especially with Iyer’s injury uncertainty. SKY will be given the longer rope but there’s a common opinion that if he fails then it will be too late to look at other options.
