India will begin their World Cup campaign against Australia at Chepauk on October 8.
After the triumphant Asia Cup 2023 campaign, India recently hosted Australia in a three-match ODI series and fine-tuned their World Cup preparations with a 2-1 victory.
During the Australia series, Suryakumar Yadav also proved his worth as a middle-order batter. While Surya slammed a sensible half-century (50) in the first game, he played a whirlwind knock of 37-ball 72* in the second match before returning with a single-digit score (8) in the series finale.
However, batting legend Virender Sehwag feels it will be difficult for Suryakumar to find a spot in India’s XI during the World Cup as the middle-order looks packed at the moment.
“At No. 6 and 7 KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya will be there. So Suryakumar won’t be there at either of those positions. There is No. 5 though. But if Hardik Pandya is your sixth bowler then Rahul will bat at No. 5, and Hardik at No. 6, then comes the bowlers. We thought Ishan Kishan could fit in somewhere in the line-up, but that hundred which Shreyas Iyer scored, if he plays at No. 4 then it will be Iyer, Rahul and Hardik at No. 4, 5 and 6 respectively,” Sehwag said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag also considers Ishan Kishan ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in the race since the former is a left-hander.
“Now it depends on how India look at this combination, whether they feel Hardik will certainly bowl 10 overs because that will give India an extra bowler. So then Suryakumar cannot fit in there and even if there is a slot, then Ishan should be picked ahead because he is a left-hander,” he opined.
Unlike his spectacular T20I stats, Suryakumar Yadav has failed to make a big mark in the 50-over format as of now. The dashing right-hander has amassed 667 runs in 30 ODIs at an average of 27.79, including four half-centuries.