A couple of days after Mumbai right-hander Suryakumar Yadav revealed that he was unable to train the day he found out he hadn’t made it to any of the Indian squads for the Australia tour, legendary West Indies cricketer Brian Lara said Suryakumar should have there with Team India in Australia.
“Yeah, definitely (Suryakumar shoul’ve been there). He’s a class player,” Lara said while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected. “I don’t just look at players that score runs, I look at their technique, capabilities under pressure, positions that they’re batting and for me, Suryakumar Yadav has done such a wonderful job for Mumbai. He comes to bat on the back of Rohit Sharma, and Quinton de Kock and every time, they are under pressure, he comes in at No. 3.” .
Lara’s comments came at the backdrop of an outstanding IPL for Suryakumar in which the right-hander made the No.3 spot his own in the strong Mumbai Indians batting line-up. He scored 480 runs striking at 145.01 in 16 matches. He was one of the main reasons why Mumbai Indians lifted the trophy for the fifth time, beating Delhi Capitals in the final. But the 30-year-old didn’t find any place in the Indian squad for the long multi-format tour.
Stressing on Suryakumar’s ability to score under pressure batting at an important position like No.3, Lara said there is ‘no reason’ why he shouldn’t be with the Indian squad on Australia tour.
“Just remember, your No. 3 batsmen, other than the openers, in any cricket team is normally your best player, your most reliable player. And for me, he has been that for Mumbai Indians and I see no reason why, looking at the squad, he can’t be a part of it,” he added.
Suryakumar, for his part, has revealed that he was expecting a call-up and was indeed disappointed when his name wasn’t there.
