Former Australia legend sides with Suryakumar Yadav despite poor returns in ODIs

Suryakumar Yadav has been one of India's best batters in the T20 format. He has scored three centuries in the shortest format. However, in ODIs, he has not been able to cement his place in the Indian side. When we examine Suryakumar's ODI record, he has scored just 537 runs in 27 matches, averaging 24.40, with two fifties.

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In the Asia Cup, Suryakumar could not make a big impact in the game against Bangladesh as he scored just 26 off 34 balls. Amidst a lot of criticism over his place in the Indian Team, Matthew Hayden put his weight behind Suryakumar Yadav and said he could come good for India in the  2023 World Cup. Suryakumar was not selected for the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka.

He played a lot of get-out-of-jail shots - Matthew Hayden

“I really understand the mindset. Because I sat for seven years without getting a game for Australia. You have these moments when you perform incredibly well for your state, and in Suryakumar Yadav's case, in first-class and IPL cricket, where his strike rate is 170+. When it comes to ODIs, he has not quite found, or decoded, what's his game going to be,”  Hayden said in an interview on Star Sports.

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“Tonight, he just played 'get out of the jail' shots, trying to get those lack of respect runs. Even when Jadeja came to play, he was going bang-bang-bang with Shubman Gill powering away. That takes a lot of confidence internally. You have to be right at the top of your game. When you are fighting so hard to find respect from your country in that one format, the harder you chase it, the farther it seems to get away. So, I do feel for Suryakumar Yadav, who I think has a huge role to play in this World Cup,” Hayden added.

In the last ODI series that he played in the West Indies Suryakumar batted at number six and it remains to be seen whether India will look at him at that position come the World Cup which will be played at home and begins on October 5.