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Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has heaped praise on the Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, who decided not to go out to bat in the last group stage against Oman in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 campaign.
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Interestingly, while India lost a total of eight wickets after opting to bat first against Oman, there were no signs of the Indian skipper coming out to bat. To make things more surprising, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh were sent out to bat ahead of him.
“If he had batted for even one over, he could have hit a few fours and sixes and that would have been good for him. But the way he batted against Pakistan, may be does not need batting practice. He may have thought that Kuldeep Yadav’s batting could come in handy if India lose quick wickets in one of the matches. Perhaps that’s why he may have sent Kuldeep in to bat,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.
“He is a very unorthodox thinker. We saw in Sri Lanka that he himself bowled and also gave Rinku Singh the ball. He turned the game, which seemed to have slipped away, on its head and won India the match. He is an innovative thinker. May be that’s why he did not bat and sent in Kuldeep and Arshdeep Singh,” he added.
On the other hand, Rohan Gavaskar disagreed with his father, stating that if Suryakumar had decided not to bat, he could’ve rested himself and decided to offer Rinku Singh a place in the playing XI.
“What doesn’t register with me is, if Suryakumar Yadav isn’t going to bat clearly because he’s sent Arshdeep, Harshit, and Kuldeep all ahead of him, then he might as well take a rest,” Rohan told on Cricbuzz.
“Give Rinku a go. You’re not going to bat; you’re not going to contribute with the ball. If that’s the whole thought process, then let Rinku have a game,” he concluded.
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