Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar shared a crucial piece of advice for struggling batter Suryakumar Yadav after he became the first Indian batter to register three consecutive golden ducks in ODI cricket during the recent series against Australia.
The right-hander was dismissed on the first delivery in each of the three ODIs against Australia, as Team India lost the home series to Steve Smith’s side by 1-2 after a 21-run defeat in the third and final ODI on March 22.
Following his horror show against Australia, Suryakumar’s place in the ODI team came under the scanner.
Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports: “Well, he was out first-ball 3 times. It's very difficult to say what is going wrong. Yes, there were two good deliveries that Mitchell Starc bowled in the first 2 matches. Yes, he might have been a little too anxious.”
On whether the Mumbai star would retain his place in the ODI team, Gavaskar said: “I mean, it depends on the kind of form that he shows in the IPL. There are few ODI matches as well in the West Indies etc. Depending on all those factors, you want to look at his place in the team.”
When he was asked what would he tell Surya, Gavaskar said: “Nothing, nothing. He has just got to understand that this can happen to the best of players and it has happened to the best of players.”
However, Gavaskar suggested that Suryakumar should put his horror show in ODIs behind him, and look forward to performing brilliantly in the upcoming IPL 2023, where he plays for the Mumbai Indians.
He signed off by saying, “So, I think, all he has got to do now is focus, forget these 3 matches and focus on the IPL, get runs over there. Once he gets runs in the IPL, he will come back confident for the next one-day game.”
Notably, Suryakumar has so far performed brilliantly, scoring more than 1000 runs last year, but he is yet to set the ODI stage on fire, as he could manage only 433 runs at an average of just 24 in 13 ODIs.
