Suryakumar Yadav in action for Indian cricket team© AFP
The inclusion of Suryakumar Yadav in the Indian cricket team squad for Cricket World Cup 2023 was met with a lot of criticism from both experts and fans. The explosive batter made a name for himself in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and T20I matches but his form in ODI cricket left a lot to be desired. Be it the lack of consistency or how he paces his innings, a question mark always loomed over his prospects in the World Cup. However, back-to-back half centuries against Australia just ahead of the tournament proved to be a major confidence boost for him and against Pakistan on Saturday, he can prove to be the X-factor.
At present, there is no guarantee that he will even make the playing XI with the batter not featuring the first two matches of Cricket World Cup 2023. The Indian cricket team went with three spinners in the match against Australia and against Afghanistan, Shardul Thakur replaced Ravichandran Ashwin. However, heading to Ahmedabad, the conditions are going to be far more batter-friendly and it is that factor precisely that opens the gates for Suryakumar to finally make his debut in the competition.
The Narendra Modi Stadium at Ahmedabad has traditionally favoured batters and with Shubman Gill not a certainty due to illness, India may find themselves looking to boost the batting line-up. In Gill’s absence, Ishan Kishan has taken his place as opener with Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya forming the middle order after Virat Kohli. However, Kishan and Iyer both failed to perform against Australia.
While the batters were back in good touch against Afghanistan, the bowling attack of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan will provide a significantly harder challenge. In that case, India may opt for five bowlers with Hardik Pandya being the third pace option and include Suryakumar as a specialist batter. In a pitch that is known to produce big scores, an extra batter can end up being a huge factor.
Suryakumar has played three matches at the venue for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and he has scored 93 runs with one half century and a strike rate of 138.81. While the difference in formats surely needs to be considered, his explosive style of batting is something that can prove crucial against Pakistan. It is a possibility that he can be used as the No. 6 batter after KL Rahul and that decision will mean that India will go into the match with a batting that extends till No. 8 in the form of Ravindra Jadeja.
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