The past year has been one of the experiments for team India in the white-ball formats, with seasoned players being rested frequently and new faces being backed to perform. Suryakumar Yadav is inarguably the best T20I batter today and has held that position for some time. However, he has failed to replicate that form in ODIs averaging a miserable 14.11 this year, which is why everyone was surprised when Suryakumar Yadav was picked ahead of Sanju Samson, who had a better ODI record, for India’s World Cup squad.
Suryakumar Yadav has an abysmal ODI record scoring just 511 runs in 26 matches since he debuted in 2021. He has an ever poorer record in the one-dayers this year scoring just 127 runs at 14.11 from 10 ODIs, and was not considered an ideal choice for India’s World Cup squad. However, many eyebrows were raised when Suryakumar Yadav made the cut for India’s 50-over squad on the back of his performances in the shortest format of the game.
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh backs the dynamic batter and says he is a complete player. Harbhajan felt that Surya had an edge over Sanju Samson, who did not make the cut for the World Cup, as the latter is known for playing a high-risk game in the middle overs.
I don’t think selectors have been harsh on Sanju Samson. Yes, I do feel Sanju is a quality player, but you can only select 15. And I feel picking Suryakumar Yadav over Sanju is the right move – Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh was speaking to the media at a Star Sports event and gave his preferences on India’s middle order for the World Cup. The turbanator backed Suryakumar to perform for India pointing out his stats in the T20Is and said that no one is capable of doing what he has managed to do in the shortest form of the game.
“I feel picking Suryakumar Yadav over Sanju is the right move. Because of the game Suryakumar Yadav has for the middle overs, Sanju probably doesn’t possess that yet. Suryakumar Yadav gives you the reliability and he can make big scores, while Sanju plays high-risk cricket” said Harbhajan Singh.
“Some people will throw Surya’s one-day numbers at me. But what he has done in T20s, and if he comes into bat with those many deliveries left, then I don’t think there’s a better player than him in the whole country,” Singh added.