Indian cricket team skipper Suryakumar Yadav demoted himself to No. 11 in a bizarre move during the Asia Cup 2025 match against Oman on Friday. Opting to bat, India decided to give every one of their batters a chance to play with Suryakumar Yadav pushing himself down the order. Sanju Samson was sent at No. 3 followed by Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube. Tilak Varma, who normally bats at No. 3, was demoted to No. 7 but there was still no sign of Suryakumar Yadav.
Ultimately, India lost eight wickets with Suryakumar Yadav not facing a single delivery. The decision left social media split with some pointing out that other batters needed practice while some accusing Suryakumar Yadav of disrespecting cricket and even trying to act ‘oversmart’.Coming to the match, India beat Oman by 21 runs after the ICC associate member nation put up a spirited show with the bat in the last group league fixture of the Asia Cup on Friday.
Sanju Samson struck a 45-ball 56 and Abhishek Sharma provided the early momentum with a 15-ball 38 as India scored 188 for eight. In reply, Oman gave a good account of themselves before ending at 167 for four in their allotted quota of 20 overs.
Aamir Kaleem made a valiant 64 off 46 balls while adding 56 runs with skipper Jatinder Singh (32 off 33 balls) and 93 runs with Hammad Mirza, who slammed 51 off 33 balls. However, the target of 189 proved to be too much for Oman as India entered the Super 4s with three wins in as many matches.
Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh became the first Indian bowler to reach 100 wickets in men’s T20 Internationals when he dismissed Vinayak Shukla in the last over of the match. Following Suryakumar Yadav’s demotion to No 11, Former Indian batter Rohan Gavaskar seemed unhappy with his tactics even after it came vs Oman and openly spoke about it.
Rohan Gavaskar slammed Suryakumar Yadav for demoting himself to No.11 in the batting order
Oman put a rather complacent Team India to the tilt in the Asia Cup clash on Friday. However, Oman’s inexperience meant India got over the line. It produced not just a 21-run win but also an intriguing talking point. Suryakumar Yadav, the captain and usually India’s batting mainstay, chose not to come out to bat despite India losing eight wickets. Instead, he pushed himself down to No. 11, giving others in the line-up a chance to spend time in the middle.
The decision was a bit unusual for Suryakumar Yadav, who wanted the unused players to get enough time in the middle. The situation became interesting in the dying moments of the game when he pushed players like Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh ahead of him.
India, riding on Sanju Samson’s scratchy half-century and handy contributions from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, posted 188/8 in their 20 overs. The total proved too steep for Oman, who fell short by 21 runs. Yet, instead of the margin of victory, the spotlight shifted to Suryakumar’s tactical call.
However, Rohan Gavaskar struck a different note, questioning the logic of holding back Rinku Singh when the skipper himself didn’t bat. Reacting to Suryakumar Yadav’s decision on Cricbuzz, Rohan Gavaskar slammed the 35-year-old,questioning why he played when he knew he would not bat and suggesting that he should have given someone like Rinku Singh a chance. He said :
“What doesn’t register with me is, if Suryakumar Yadav isn’t going to bat clearly because he’s sent Arshdeep, Harshit, and Kuldeep all ahead of him, then he might as well take a rest. Give Rinku a go. You’re not going to bat, you’re not going to contribute with the ball. If that’s the whole thought process, then let Rinku have a game because it’s clear that you don’t want to bat.”
“If you’re coming behind Arshdeep, Harshit, and Kuldeep, then take a rest, take a break, and that’s absolutely fine. You’ve given Jasprit Bumrah a break, you’ve given Varun a break, and no one would have said anything if you’ve taken a break, fine. You know it’s Oman, and with all due respect, you feel that India’s bench strength should have the goods to beat them. Take a break,” he added.
In the first 2 matches vs UAE and Pakistan , Suryakumar Yadav registered unbeaten 7 and 47 respectively. In the same conversation, Rohan Gavaskar added that India should have sent Kuldeep Yadav ahead of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana as both the pacers are unlikely to feature in Super 4s. He remarked :
“Even with Harshit, we were talking about this. Harshit is not going to be playing in the coming matches because you’ll get Varun and Jasprit back. So he’s not going to be there; you don’t need to test him to see what he can do in case there’s a collapse or if you need your number 8 and 9 to bat. He won’t be in the XI. Nor is Arshdeep.”
“If anything, Arshdeep will be ahead of Harshit, so you’re not really going to rely on them. If you had to send someone, you would have to send Kuldeep to see what he can do, because Kuldeep will be playing in the Super Fours and going forward,” he added.
However the result of the Oman Team wont affect either of the teams as India are already qualified for the Super 4s and would face Pakistan on 21st September. On the other hand Oman with 3 losses in 3 matches leaves Asia cup with a much improved and spirited performance.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Aakash Chopra Expects Arshdeep Singh To Not Feature Against Pakistan