Suryakumar Yadav (left) during a chat with Rahul Dravid.© BCCI/Sportzpics
Indian cricket team head coach Rahul Dravid reviewed Suryakumar Yadav‘s ODI batting performance. The star player, who is the top-ranked T20I batter in the world, has failed to impress with his stats in the ODI format. In 25 ODIs, Suryakumar has scored 476 runs at an average of 23.80. He has hit only two half-centuries in those games with his highest score being 64. Not only the stats but the modes of his dismissals have also been disappointing.
While reviewing the ODI batting of Suryakumar, Dravid defended the player, giving an Indian Premier League (IPL) reference.
“Surya is a really good player, there is no doubt about that. He has shown that. Especially in T20 cricket, in domestic cricket, in white-ball cricket. He has some very good performances. He would be the first one to admit that his ODI numbers haven’t been up to the standards or the standards that he has set in T20. He’s also probably learning ODIs. He has played a lot of competitive T20 cricket through the IPL before he made his debut for India. In One-dayers he hasn’t played as much competitive cricket, because there is no IPL for one-dayers,” said Dravid in the press conference after the second ODI.
In the ongoing three-match ODI series against West Indies, Suryakumar has scored 19 and 24 runs in the first two games.
“He’s also learning about his game, and learning to bat in the middle overs. He is a talent and we want to give him as many opportunities as we can. It is really up to him now to take those opportunities and use those opportunities. In the kind of setup we are, we give people as many chances as we possibly can,” Dravid added.
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