A few eyebrows were raised seeing Suryakumar Yadav walk out to open the bating for India with captain Rohit Shama in the first T20I against West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad when most expected Rishabh Pant to do the same as the left-hander had opened twice in India’s last T20I series against England.
Veteran India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems to be a part of the surprised lot as he gave an astonishing answer when asked about the reasons behind India’s decision of opening with Suryakumar in the series opener. Bhuvneshwar, who has joined the side after being rested from the ODI leg of the tour, said he has little idea about the thought process behind the decision but was sure that captain Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid must have put some deep thought behind it.
“What was the thought process behind sending Suryakumar Yadav to open especially when the team had opened with Pant and Hooda previously,” was the question put forward to Bhuvneshwar in the pre-match virtual press conference ahead of the second T20I.
“I really don’t know. Itna pata hai ki zaroor kuch thought process raha hoga (All I know that there must have been some thought process behind it). It surely wasn’t random. I’m sure whatever the coach and captain want to achieve something out of this. Honestly, I don’t know what exactly was the thought process behind it but I’m sure there must’ve been some deep thinking,” Bhuvneshwar said.
Suryakumar, unfortunately, failed to capitalise on the golden opportunity despite getting off to a promising start. He was dismissed for 24 off 16 balls.
