The name central to the discussions of all cricket pundits and fans at present is that of Mumbai Indians (MI) batsman Suryakumar Yadav. From being backed by fans and senior cricketers for a place in the Indian team to being snubbed for a spot in all three teams for the Australia tour, the right-handed batsman has gone through a roller-coaster of emotions in the last few days.
Former India cricketers Virender Sehwag and Murali Kartik, in conversation with Cricbuzz, spoke about the gruelling topic after Yadav guided Mumbai to an important 5-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 match on Wednesday.
“It was a phenomenal match. The innings played by Suryakumar Yadav was incredible. He showed Virat Kohli that he isn’t inferior to anyone (in reference to the selection snub for the Australia tour). There was a moment where Suryakumar played a shot towards Kohli and then two had a stare-off where the former asserted once again that he doesn’t fear anything or anyone,” said Sehwag.
Sehwag also admitted that there have been cases in Indian cricket before where some top performers, despite putting in a stupendous show in domestic cricket, didn’t get to represent the national team. But he is hopeful that it won’t be the same case with SKY.
“There have been numerous players in the domestic circuit who didn’t get the opportunity in the Indian team despite top performances. I feel IPL is a platform where you will get opportunities if you are doing well. Varun Chakravarthy is a fine example of the same,” Sehwag added.
Sehwag even feels that some of the competitors that Surykumar is up against in the Indian team for a spot in the middle-order, haven’t been as consistent as him in the IPL this season. This is primarily the reason why he deserved to get into the T20 squad at least.
“I strongly feel Suryakumar should get his opportunity because none of his competitors are as consistent, be it Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey or Rishabh Pant,” the former India opener asserted.
