Former Indian batter Suresh Raina believes India will miss Suryakumar Yadav’s “X factor” during the ICC Champions Trophy. Yadav, who leads India in the T20I format, has not been picked in the Champions Trophy squad by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel.
SKY doesn’t have great ODI numbers and thus he was ignored by the selection committee. Yadav has amassed 773 runs in 37 ODI matches at an average of 25.77. The right-hander was part of India’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad but his last ODI game for India was the final of the marquee event against Australia.
It is well known that SKY can turn a match on its head with his blistering batting, as he has done so on numerous occasions in the shortest format.
“When the team was announced yesterday, I was surprised. Suryakumar Yadav, who made a lot of noise during the 2022 World Cup, was not included. He is called “360” in white-ball cricket for a reason. He can play sweeps, change the game in the middle overs, and chase a run rate of 9. I believe Surya should have been in the team. In the middle overs, you need a player who can dominate the opposition. In Dubai, the dimensions of the ground vary smaller at the point and front, bigger on the cover which suits Surya’s batting style,” said Raina on Star Sports Press Room.
“If he were included, the X-factor in the middle order would not be missing. Without him, more responsibility falls on the top three, whose form has not been great. The middle order becomes a key focus: will KL Rahul play there? Will Rishabh Pant bat higher? Will there be a left-right combination? Will Axar Patel bat up the order? If Suryakumar were there, he could have batted anywhere,” he added.
SKY will lead India in five-match T20I series against England, starting Wednesday at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
India squad for the Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah*, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
