“We cannot think of India without him”

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Suryakumar Yadav, India’s star middle-order batsman, received appreciation from former Team India captain Kapil Dev, who claimed that Yadav’s performance made people talk about him and his game. Over the past year, Suryakumar has become a critical component of India’s limited-overs system.

His addition solved India’s problems at No. 4, where they had struggled for several years. The Men in Blue suffered a major setback in the 2021 T20 WC as they batted cautiously and mainly relied on their top three players – KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. They were also eliminated from both the Champions Trophy 2017 and the ODI World Cup 2019 due to over-reliance on the top three.

Suryakumar’s growth, especially in the T20I format, has allowed India to adopt a bold approach with the bat. At a promotional event, the former World Cup-winning captain noted that no one expected Yadav to make such a significant impact, but he used his talent to get the world talking about him.

“No one ever thought that Yadav would be an impact player in the future, but he has excelled with his batting and made the world talk about him. Now we cannot think of India without him. Having a batsman like Suriyakumar in the team in the company of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul automatically makes the team strong,” Dev said.

An opportunity for Suryakumar Yadav to become the No. 1 T20I batsman

According to the ICC rankings announced last week, Suryakumar started T20 World Cup 2022 as the second-ranked batsman in T20Is, just behind Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan. Other notable Indian names in the top 20 are captain Rohit Sharma (16), KL Rahul (13) and Virat Kohli (15). Among the Indian players, Suryakumar Yadav is currently the highest ranked player.

The 32-year-old’s T20 WC campaign did not get off to a good start as he was dismissed cheaply in the game against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. However, India won the match by four wickets on the last ball thanks to Virat Kohli’s excellent performance. India will take on the Netherlands at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on October 27.

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