Suryakumar Yadav had a brilliant run of form for the Indian cricket team in the recent ODI series against Australia. His selection for the Cricket World Cup 2023 was initially met with doubts, but he proved himself with two half-centuries to guide his team to a series win. Despite his improved form, legendary India opener Sunil Gavaskar expressed doubts about his performance in the ODI format and questioned his inclusion in the World Cup playing XI.
Gavaskar stated, “Suryakumar hasn’t done anything significant yet in ODI cricket. He mostly bats in the final overs where he utilizes his T20 abilities, which is undoubtedly important. But Hardik, Ishan, and Rahul can also fulfill that role. So Iyer is confirmed for No. 4. Suryakumar will have to wait, and if he gets a chance at No.4, he needs to score a big hundred and prove that he can also score centuries.”
Meanwhile, India has named veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as a replacement for injured spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel in their 15-member squad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup. Axar’s quadriceps tear has left him unable to recover in time for the tournament, leading the selection committee to choose Ashwin, who impressed with four wickets in two ODIs against Australia.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed, “Axar Patel has failed to recover in time for the World Cup after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during India’s Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder missed the final of the Asia Cup as a result.” They further added, “Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named as his replacement, as he was impressive in the recently concluded series against Australia, where he picked up four wickets in two games.”
India’s Cricket World Cup squad includes Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav.
Topics discussed in this article include Suryakumar Yadav, Indian cricket team, ODI series, Cricket World Cup, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, and selection committee.