Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh thinks Suryakumar Yadav will provide the Men in Blue with the extra edge they need to win the 2023 World Cup at home. The selection of SKY for the ODI team had been hotly contested, but when he recently crushed back-to-back half-centuries against Australia, the discussion seemed to have subsided.
It has been discussed who India may play in the middle order alongside Hardik Pandya given the runs by players like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Ishan Kishan. Harbhajan, though, has made it very plain that SKY would be his first choice for the starting XI.
On India Today Conclave, Harbhajan Singh was cited as saying the following about Suryakumar Yadav:
“Looking forward to Suryakumar Yadav. He is an X-factor. If he gets going, he won’t just win you the match, but he will win you the tournament. If I were a selector, I would have SKY as the second player in my team after the captain. Hardik Pandya is as good as anyone when it comes to hitting the ball and playing the normal game. I would play SKY if I were part of the team management. Who knows if they will play him or not?”
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh: Suryakumar Yadav would scare me as a bowler
Harbhajan Singh said that he would have ran out of bowling options against Suryakumar Yadav if he were still playing professional cricket. Despite SKY’s inconsistent ODI scoring, Harbhajan still wants to support him in all World Cup contests.
The former cricketer said something regarding this:
“I don’t know what it is about him (Suryakumar). Today, I would be frightened bowling to him but not when I was at my peak. He reminds me of AB de Villiers. We need a player like him to play. Even if flops, I would still play him for the remaining matches.”
Harbhajan Singh
When India takes the field on Sunday, October 8 against Australia in Chennai for their 2023 World Cup debut, it would be intriguing to watch if they decide to wager on SKY.