‘Don’t Know About Iyer’s Return So At This Point…’: Rohit Lifts Lid On Suryakumar’s ODI Future After Consecutive Ducks

Back-to-back dismissals for golden duck has raised questions over Suryakumar Yadav’s place in the ODI squad. In both the first two matches of the series against Australia, the India batter was dismissed by left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc in exact similar manner.

While Suryakumar has been a sensation in T20 format, where he has been ruling the ICC batting charts since October, he has failed to crack the code in ODI cricket, leaving veterans concerned with the World Cup later this year. Amid the talk, India skipper Rohit Sharma lift the lid over Suryakumar’s future in ODIs.

While Suryakumar is a certainty in T20I cricket, probably the second name jotted down after the captain, he is yet to be a regular in ODI cricket. He in fact bagged a place in the India playing XI in place of injured Shreyas Iyer, but failed to make the most of the opportunity.

Speaking to media after India’s humiliating 10-wicket loss in Visakhapatnam, Rohit back Suryakumar owing to his “potential” and said that he needs a consistent run of at least 8 to 10 matches for management to look at his poor returns in the format.

“We don’t know about Iyer’s return so at this point in time there is a spot available and we have to play him. He has obviously shown a lot of potential with the white ball. And I have said this many a times that guys with potential will be given some run. Of course he knows he has to do well in slightly longer format of the game. But as I said, guys with potential will have enough run where they won’t feel that they weren’t given enough chances at a particular slot,” he said.

“Yes he got out in the last two balls and the series before that as well but he needs that consistent run of 8 to 10 games so that he feels more comfortable. Right now, he has gotten the place when someone was injured or is not available. So that doesn’t solve the purpose where as management we can look into the performances so much. Right now we haven’t gone down that route.”

Overall, Suryakumar is yet to make an impact in ODIs. In 22 appearances he has amassed 433 runs at 25.47 laced with only two half-centuries, the last of which came more than a year back.

Given Rohit’s backing, Suryakumar is likely to play the third ODI match as well, which will be held in Chennai on March 22.