The upcoming series between India and Australia is sure to capture the attention of cricket fans around the world. With India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, needing to put together the best playing XI in order to be successful, former head coach Ravi Shastri has offered his valuable insight. He recommends that the team needs to find the perfect balance between experienced veterans and fresh new talent.
India will be without three of their most important players – Rishabh Pant, who is recovering from a car accident, Shreyas Iyer, who has an injury to his back but only for the first Test, and Jasprit Bumrah, who also has a back injury. With two major middle-order batsmen out, Shastri believes that India should include Suryakumar Yadav in the team. The 32-year-old has been a great success in limited-overs cricket in the past two years, which has given the selectors the confidence to include him in red-ball matches. Shastri believes that his attacking skills will be important for the team on spinning surfaces.
Shastri’s Comment On Suryakumar Yadav
Shastri commented in a talk sponsored by Star Sports that Suryakumar Yadav is likely to be given a chance to play in the Test match and that he would be playing according to his natural style. He also added that Yadav would be proactive in taking on spinners like Nathan Lyon, always looking for ways to score runs rather than just block them. In order to do well in India, Shastri said, it is necessary to rotate the strike and not allow the bowlers to bowl consecutive maidens.
Suryakumar only re-entered first-class cricket after a three-year hiatus in December last year. He played three Ranji Trophy matches for Mumbai and accumulated 223 runs at a superior strike rate of 95.70. Shastri believes Suryakumar will be very beneficial in that role. He might be able to showcase his talents on a track that is getting a lot of play, where a margin of 30 or 40 runs can determine the outcome of a game. He can score quickly and disrupt the opposition. India will be considering this strategy, Shastri mentioned.
