Earlier this week, the BCCI men's selection committee announced India’s 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, slated to be held in India from October 5 to November 19.
While there were no major surprises in the squad, Suryakumar Yadav's inclusion did raise a few eyebrows considering his poor record in the 50-over format. There is also an argument that Sanju Samson, who boasts an average of 50+ in ODIs, should’ve been preferred over Surya.
Notably, Suryakumar has impressed one and all with his exploits in the shortest format of the game but the dashing right-hander is yet to make a mark in ODIs, scoring 511 runs from 26 matches at an average of 24.33 with two fifties.
However, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed Suryakumar’s selection in the World Cup team, saying that what the latter can do at No. 5 or No. 6 position no other batter in the Indian team can.
"I don't think selectors have been harsh on Sanju Samson. Yes, I do feel Sanju is a very very good player, talented player, but you can only select 15 players. Before Sanju, Suryakumar should play, as the game he has right now, Sanju probably doesn't. Suryakumar can make big runs but Sanju plays a high-risk form of cricket," Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
"People might disagree with me, asking what has Suryakumar done in ODis? But What Suryakumar Yadav has done in T20Is, since he gets similar playing time in T20Is too, then at that no., there's no player better in India. What he can do at that number, even Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can't," he added.
According to Harbhajan, it’s tough to excel at No. 5 and No. 6 positions and Surya has the ability to do what MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh did in the past.
"Batting at No. 5 and 6 is very tough. Dhoni has done it, Yuvi has done it. Opening is a zone in one day, you know you can score runs in the circle, you have 50 overs. But batting after 30-35 overs, you need to find gaps and hit boundaries. In the entire Indian team, no one can do that better than Suryakumar. I will always pick him in my team," he elaborated.
In the end, Harbhajan said Suryakumar Yadav should always be a part of India's ODI team irrespective of Samson’s selection in the side.
"No matter if he does well or not, the pressure of him being a part of the team does fall on the opponents. He can turn out to be a match-winner any day. There should be no debate between him and Sanju Samson. Sanju is there in the team or not, Surya should be in the XI," he concluded.
