Gautam Gambhir believes Suryakumar Yadav is in a different league as a T20 batsman compared to Shreyas Iyer. Suryakumar Yadav is part of India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Another middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, is part of the three standbys named in India’s squad for T20I WC alongside pacers Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.
Following a long wait, Suryakumar Yadav made an excellent start to his international career. He was the Player of the Series in the ODIs against Sri Lanka and scored a half-century in India’s win in the first T20I as well. In his brief international career, the 30-year-old middle-order batsman has played 3 ODIs where he amassed 124 runs averaging 62 and 4 T20Is where he amassed 139 runs averaging 46.33.
Gautam Gambhir: ‘UnOrthodox’ Suryakumar Yadav Is A Completely Different Class As Compared To Shreyas Iyer
During a discussion on the Star Sports show Follow the Blues, Gautam Gambhir was asked about the two batsmen. The question posed was whether it was Shreyas Iyer’s injury or the range and temperament that Suryakumar Yadav has shown that has helped the latter pip the former to the post.
“Suryakumar Yadav is a completely different class as compared to Shreyas Iyer. He is much more versatile. He is much more unorthodox as well and in T20 cricket you want people who are unorthodox.”
The former India opener added that the middle-order batsman 30-year-old Suryakumar Yadav has a full array of shots at his disposal.
“You want people who can hit that ball in different areas. He can lap you, he can late cut you, he can hit you over extra cover, he has got all the shots, especially at No.4.”
Suryakumar Yadav has set the stage alight in the four T20Is he has played for Team India. He has smashed 139 runs at a strike rate of 169.51 and has hit two fifties in three innings.
Gautam Gambhir: No. 4 Is The Most Tricky Position To Bat In T20Is
Gautam Gambhir highlighted that Suryakumar Yadav can adjust his game to the demands of the situation.
“Sometimes, No.4 is the most tricky position to bat in T20 cricket. Probably the easiest is the top three but No.4, sometimes you might be in when you have lost two early wickets and sometimes you come into the middle when you are 120/2 and then you have got to continue with that momentum. So, Surya has got both kinds of game which probably Shreyas Iyer doesn’t have,” said Gautam Gambhir.
The 39-year-old acknowledged that Shreyas Iyer having recovered recently from a serious injury, could also have played a role in his omission from the 15 member squad.
Gautam Gambhir said: “You have also got to be mindful that he is coming off a serious injury and you never know what kind of a form he would be in the second leg of the IPL as well. So, they have gone with someone who has done really well since he has got into international cricket.”
The Indian selectors could have opted to keep both Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer in the 15-man member squad, with the latter coming in at the expense of probably Ishan Kishan or a spinner. However, they may have refrained from going that route due to question marks over Shreyas Iyer’s fitness.
Shreyas Iyer has played 29 T20Is where he amassed 550 runs averaging a modest 28.94 with 3 fifties apart from 22 ODIs where he managed 813 runs averaging 42.78. His last T20I and ODI appearance came against England at home in March 2021 where he injured himself.
Ravichandran Ashwin made a comeback after playing his last T20I in 2017 while the likes of Krunal Pandya, Shikhar Dhawan, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t find a place in the squad.
Full squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami; Stand-by: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur