‘But if your Man of the Match is getting dropped the next day and…’ - Former India captain on Suryakumar Yadav’s exclusion from ODIs

Suryakumar Yadav has impressed everyone with his batting bailities in the shortest format of the game. He proved his worth again when he scored 112* runs off 51 balls in the third and last match of the T20I series. So, fans were expecting to see him in the playing XI in the three-match ODI series against the Lankans.

But, team India and Rohit Sharma surprised everyone as the star batter missed playing XI for the first and second matches. India went with Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul in the middle order instead of Suryakumar. He finally got a chance in the third ODI. Now, regarding his lack of selection in ODIs, former India captain, Kapil Dev came up with his views. 

“You can change an odd person I can understand that.” - Kapil Dev regarding Suryakumar Yadav 

In an interaction with Gulf News, Kapil Dev said: "I think we should leave it to the cricket board what they (selectors) plan. There are so many cricketers coming so everyone should get a chance to play. From what I can see from the outside is that they will have three teams - one each for T20Is, ODIs, and Tests. That way, you can have a bigger pool."

"Having said that, they should have one set of teams for a period of time. You can change an odd person I can understand that. But if your Man of the Match (Suryakumar Yadav) is getting dropped the next day and somebody else comes in, we as cricketers don't understand that," he added.

Speaking about Suryakumar Yadav, in the T20I series against the Lankans, Suryakumar Yadav scored 170 runs in three matches, at an average of 85 and with a strike rate of 175.25. In the ODI series against Sri Lanka, he scored only four runs in one inning. In the ongoing home ODI series against the Kiwis, Suryakumar Yadav scored 31 runs off 26 balls in the first match. Now, he will be in action again on 21 January in the second ODI in Raipur.