After years of grinding in domestic cricket, Suryakumar Yadav received his maiden India call-up earlier this year for the England T20I series at home and he justified his selection with two fine knocks.
While the right-hander didn’t get an opportunity to bat on his debut match, he scored 57 off 31 balls in the fourth T20I and followed it with a brilliant cameo of 17-ball 32.
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In both the innings, Suryakumar batted at No. 3 position and ex-India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that the former is an ideal candidate for the one down slot in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Notably, India skipper Virat Kohli has already expressed the desire to partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order in the showpiece event, slated to be held in UAE and Oman from October 17.
"Yes, I think he (Surya) is one of the front-runners, especially with the news coming out that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are going to be India's openers. There could be a number three slot open for him," Manjrekar said during a virtual interaction.
"I don't know what plan they have with (KL) Rahul, there certainly is a place for someone like Suryakumar Yadav. I have rarely seen somebody bat like that in the IPL for the whole season and even more, the kind of batsmanship we have seen.
"And makes him an ideal number three, he can hit good balls for fours, certainly one of the options," he added.
Manjrekar also explained why he would prefer Ishan Kishan over Sanju Samson in the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka, starting July 13.
"Ishan Kishan is my choice, purely because I am going for the more consistent batter. In ODI cricket keeping is not as crucial as it is in Test matches, in T20s it is not that vital, so you are really making a choice of a better batter," he opined.
"Samson is incredible when he gets going, there is nobody better than him but consistency is a very important criteria for me and that is where I would like to back somebody like Ishan Kishan before I look at Sanju Samson," he further remarked.
According to Manjrekar, the Sri Lanka tour, comprising three ODIs and T20Is each, will also be important for wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
“I am actually very happy with the way the selection has been made. It is nice to see that Kuldeep Yadav has been brought back. In the last year or in a couple of years, he lost his place.
“In the Indian white ball team, there was a time he was a game-changer along with (Yuzvendra) Chahal. It is nice that the selectors have given him the opportunity to stake his claim, because he hardly plays for IPL.
“He has a chance and he will have to compete for a place in that Indian T20 World Cup side. He has to prove that he can be a better option,” he stated.
Manjrekar also believes all-rounder Hardik Pandya can play solely as a batsman in the team, having done so in the last season against Australia.
"Hardik proved himself in Australia that he is perfectly capable of playing in the team as a pure batter, there is no doubt now that he can do that," he said.
"I am also reading reports that he has started bowling as well. His bowling, all the more-better for India. He has shown that he has the ability to walk into the team as a pure batter in white-ball cricket," added Manjrekar.
Manjrekar also said that the T20 team that India would put up in the upcoming World Cup would be one of the strongest.
"The T20 World Cup squad is almost finalised. India's T20 cricket is in a very healthy space, so it is not like the 2019 World Cup, where till the end we didn't find our number four.
"This T20 team, that India will put up, will be one of the strongest India has ever put up in a T20 format, so I think most of the players are already pencilled in.
(With PTI inputs)
