India lost their final Super 4 match in the Asia Cup 2023 against Bangladesh on Friday, 16 September. Chasing 260 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, India succumbed to the disciplined Bangladesh bowling attack despite Shubman Gill’s tremendous century. Rohit Sharma’s side had rested the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli from their line-up and chances were given to Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav ahead of the ODI World Cup.
During a crucial juncture of the chase, Suryakumar Yadav squandered yet another opportunity to carve out a space for himself in ODI cricket, getting bowled out to Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan.
Speaking about Yadav’s performance from the game, former cricketers Deep Dasgupta and Matthew Hayden sounded concerned and said that it was a strange innings. Yadav scored 26 off 34 balls and got out in the 33rd over of the match, when the team wanted one side to be stable while Shubman Gill was batting in rampaging form.
“It was very strange for me, because it seemed like that the only shot that he wanted to play was a sweep. I mean we have generally seen him being so good against the spinners, going over extra cover, mid off, he has other options. It was such a strange innings because all he wanted to do was sweep. I can understand that he is struggling. I can understand when you go out there, you connect a few and you feel confident. He was struggling to play that shot and he still went for it anyway,” Deep Dasgupta said on Star Sports after the match.
Hayden said that he understood that Yadav was desperate to prove himself in the Indian side but at the moment, the harder he chased perfection, the further it went away.
“I really understand the mindset, because I had 7 years sitting in the nets not getting a game for Australia, and you have these moments where you perform incredibly well for your states and in Suryakumar Yadav’s case – in first class cricket and in the IPL where his strike rate is 170+. When it comes to the ODI format, he has not quite found, or decoded what sort of player he is going to be,” said Matthew Hayden during the same discussion.
The former Australia opener said that it was a shame because be believed that Suryakumar Yadav had a big role to play in India’s ODI World Cup campaign. Yadav was selected ahead of Sanju Samson in the ODI World Cup squad, a decision that divided the Indian fans.
“His strike rate is 100 and he was clearly trying to play get out of jail shots. He was trying to play those lack of respect runs instead of someone like Axar Patel. But it takes a lot of internal confidence to do that and you have to be right at the top of your game. When you are fighting so hard to find respect for your country in one format, the harder you chase it, the further it seems to get away, so I do feel for Suryakumar Yadav, because I feel that he has got a big role to play in this World Cup,” the former Australian batter concluded.
