Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai’s middle-order batsman has been knocking on the doors of the Indian selectors for some time. The right-hander, who is currently also the Mumbai captain, has been in tremendous form in domestic cricket and had also been a consistent performer in the Indian Premier League.
But despite the string of solid performances, the 30-year-old had a tough time breaking into the national side, with several other big names like Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey available for his position. That changed after IPL 2020 in the UAE.
Suryakumar Yadav Named In 5 Match T20I Series After Excellent Performances In IPL 2020
Suryakumar Yadav had a fantastic season in IPL 2020, but this time he also showcased his match-winning skills on the big stage. His innings of 79* against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore would go down as one of the best innings while chasing in the tournament’s history.
Still, Suryakumar Yadav was left out of the limited-overs squad that travelled to Australia, though, India head coach Ravi Shastri predicted his time will come and asked him to be patient. A few months later, Suryakumar Yadav has been named to the India T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against England.
The incumbent batsmen like Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, and Sanju Samson have not grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Both Manish Pandey and Sanju Samson were shown the door after repeated failures in the 19 man T20I squad against England in 5 T20Is.
Suryakumar Yadav scored 480 runs in 16 games averaging 40 in IPL 2020 which was hailed by fans who felt disappointed when his name wasn’t in the Australian tour’s limited-overs squad. He also notched up 424 runs and 512 runs in the previous two editions.
Suryakumar Yadav Should Be Given Many Games Before T20I And Should Be Included In The ODI Squad Too: Devang Gandhi
Former selector Devang Gandhi opened up on the Mumbai batsman’s form besides mentioning that if the Indian team wants him to be a part of the T20I World Cup squad in 2021, they need to give him as many games as possible, including in the ODIs.
“Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) has had tremendous success for Mumbai Indians in the IPL batting at that particular slot. If you are looking at him going into the World T20, give him as many games as possible in the lead up. He should also be kept in the ODI squad,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
India will play 5-T20I matches against England starting from 12th March at Ahmedabad before 3 ODIs at Pune. The Virat Kohli-led side recently won the Test series 3-1.