A lot of cricket boffins reckon that Suryakumar Yadav is best suited to bat at number four in the middle order for India in T20Is. Yadav has been given the opportunity to open the innings in the T20I series against the West Indies. The right-hander returned with scores of 24 and 11 in the first two matches however he was finally able to grab his chance in the third game as he scored a fine knock of 76 runs off just 43 balls to help his team chase down 165 runs.
But despite his heroics in the third game as an opener, former Indian wicket-keeper batter Saba Karim believes Yadav is best suited for the number four slot in the batting order in the shortest format of the game.
SKY hasn’t opened the innings much in T20 cricket and he plays in the middle order for Mumbai in the domestic circuit and also for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
Yadav has the skills to hit the ground running and he can play all around the ground. The right-hander has been performing consistently for the Indian team and he is going to play a key role in T20 World Cup. The 31-year-old has scored 648 runs in 32 matches at an average of 38.12 and a strike rate of 175.61.
Saba Karim said on India News Sports: “I still think that he is best suited at No.4, especially against a top-quality bowling attack. No.4 is a very important batting position in ICC events, you need a player like Suryakumar there. He is equally proficient against pacers and spinners and scores at a healthy strike rate.”
On the other hand, former Indian all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi believes Suryakumar Yadav will keep rotating the strike and score boundaries at regular intervals in the middle order, which is going to be crucial for India.
Sodhi said on the same platform, “He is an exceptional player, he has proven himself at the International level. He is brilliant in the middle-order, he knows how to run the game, he knows how to rotate strike as well as score boundaries at regular intervals. He will keep the scoreboard ticking.”
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav had scored a fine knock of 117 runs off just 55 balls in the third T20I against England but his efforts had went in vain.
The fourth T20I between India and West Indies will be played on Saturday.
