Just three months before the World T20, India have taken a punt with Suryakumar Yadav as an opener in West Indies. The tactic seems to have worked, as the right-handed batter has notched up 24, 11 and 76 so far in the five-match Twenty20 series, which makes one wonder if there will be a fresh opening pair in Australia.
Former India fielding coach R Sridhar has talked about Dhoni’s move that paid off well for Indian cricket. He revealed how the former skipper was keen on elevating Rohit Sharma up the order.
Dhoni showed faith in Rohit’s abilities, which eventually led to the ‘Hitman’ becoming one of the top-five run-scorers of the competition. Rohit scored 177 runs from five matches and played with an average of 35.40.
“There was one decision made by Dhoni in 2013 Champions Trophy to send Rohit to open. Dinesh (Karthik) was batting so well in the practice games but Rohit had to play… so the management then, mostly captain Dhoni, found a spot for Rohit at the top of the order. That was a brilliant move,” Sridhar told cricket.com.
Sridhar also lauded Suryakumar Yadav’s inclusion in the current 20-over set-up, and pointed out how Shreyas Iyer fits at the No.3 spot when Virat Kohli is absent from the eleven.
“A move that we made in T20s was Surya coming into the team a couple of years ago against England. He has shown how good he is. Shreyas (Iyer) is back at No.3, which is where he should be if Virat (Kohli) is not playing,” Sridhar added.
