India’s talisman Suryakumar Yadav admitted his numbers are quite poor in One-Day cricket and he wants to improve them. With the ODI World Cup on the cards, SKY could play a key role in India’s middle order if KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer fail to recover on time.
SKY once again showed a glimpse of what he can do in T20I cricket. The Mumbai batter smashed 83 off just 44 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes in a must-win third T20I against the West Indies at Providence Stadium, Guyana on Tuesday.
The right-hander was able to hit the ground running after debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed cheaply. SKY didn’t apply any brakes even after Shubman Gill was dismissed in the Powerplay overs. Yadav added a fine alliance of 87 runs with his Mumbai Indians teammate Tilak Varma before he was dismissed after playing a match-winning knock.
However, SKY is yet to take the 50-overs version by storm as he has done in the shortest format. In 26 ODIs, SKY has scored only 511 runs at an average of 24.33 and stated he wants to play according to the team management.
“If I’m honest, I know my numbers in one-day cricket are quite poor,” he said. “There is no shame in admitting that. We talk about honesty, you need to be honest but it’s even more important how you work and improve on it.
“Rohit and Rahul bhai have told me – this is not a format that you play a lot, you need to practice a bit on what can be done for the team. We want you to play 45 to 50 balls. That’s the sign from the team management, now that’s on me how I want to play my game if I’m batting in the last 15-18 overs. Now, that’s in my hand how to make use of this opportunity. I need to bat as per the team requirement.”
Yadav also showered praise on Tilak Varma, who continued to impress in the ongoing T20I series. Varma scored an unbeaten knock of 49 runs in the run-chase of 160 as India registered a seven-wicket win to pull one back.
“I think he is very clear in his mind,” Suryakumar said on Tilak. “Most importantly, he knows his game very well, what he wants to do when he comes into bat and today as well he was very clear. Mentally he is very strong and that’s the most important thing when you come to the Indian dressing room and play at this level.”
SKY will want to carry the same show in the remaining two matches of the series and he is going to hold the key. The fourth T20I between these two teams will be played on Saturday at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida.
