Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has urged Team India to stop opening the innings with Suryakumar Yadav in T20I cricket. India has been experimenting a lot at the top of the order as they had also recently given opportunities to Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Meanwhile, SKY hasn’t been able to grab his chances while opening the innings in the first two T20Is against the West Indies. The right-hander from Mumbai scored 24 runs in the first T20I and then could only manage 11 runs in the second game.
In fact, SKY is known to hit the ground running but he hasn’t opened the innings in the past. The 31-year-old has been in good form in the recent past and he had scored a fantastic knock of 117 runs off just 55 balls in the second T20I against England while batting at number four.
Speaking to FanCode, Kris Srikkanth said, “Suryakumar Yadav is a brilliant player at No. 4. He should be batting at No.4 in the T20 World Cup. So, why do you want to make him open? If you want someone to open, drop Shreyas Iyer and pick Ishan Kishan instead.”
Srikkanth added: “What I am trying to say is simple … Don’t spoil a cricketer like Suryakumar Yadav. Please don’t do that. I will tell you, after a couple of failures, he will lose his confidence. Cricket is a confidence game.”
Suryakumar Yadav has been performing consistently for India since making his T20I debut against England back in 2021. The right-hander has also performed consistently while playing for Mumbai in the domestic circuit and also for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
The right-hander is known to score all around the ground and that is why he is known as a 360-degree player. He has scored 572 runs in 21 T20I matches at an average of 35.76 and a blistering strike rate of 176.
Yadav is expected to play a key role for India in the T20 World Cup and it would be better if he plays in the middle-order. KL Rahul is expected to take back his opening slot with Rohit Sharma for the T20I showpiece, which will take place later in the year.
The third T20I between India and West Indies will be played on Tuesday.
