Ashish Nehra, a former Indian cricketer and one of the brightest minds in the game, considered the possibility of Suryakumar becoming a regular in India’s XI in ODIs.
His rise of Suryakumar Yadav in T20 cricket can be summed up by his initials, his SKY-high. The 32-year-old is currently his #1 T20 hitter in the world with 908 Elo points, just seven less than Dawid Maran’s all-time high of his Elo 915. He was recognized for his exploits in the shortest format after scoring his 1,164 runs in 31 matches and averaging a staggering 46.56. Lest we forget, the right-hander made his international debut for India in March 2021. It’s been less than two years. With such high profile in less than two years, Suryakumar has undoubtedly carved a niche for himself in T20 cricket. But the flashy batsmen have yet to earn the cricket fraternity with similar panache and performances in the 50-overs format. Suryakumar, who has yet to make his Test cricket debut, seemed overshadowed at the ODI. In his recently ended ODI series against New Zealand, he averaged 22.50 and managed to score just 45 runs. His subpar performance led some critics to see him as just his T20 specialist.
His Ashish Nehra, a former Indian cricketer and one of the brightest figures in the game, has considered the possibility of Suryakumar becoming a regular in his XI in ODIs in India. In his dealings with the ICC, Nehra helped Sryukmar shine in his 50 overs in his format as well. “He’s certainly capable, so let’s hope he shows that form throughout the format. He’s played a few one-day games, but if he continues to play at his current level, obviously It will make his place in XI.”When a player pushes the limits with such a performance, the bar needs to be raised or Suryakumar will always take his place,” said Nehra.
Former Indian bowler Nehra also spoke of Suryakumar’s 2022 ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award, saying he was not surprised by the development given Suryakumar’s staggering figures in the shortest format.
“It’s not surprising at all. This is one of the surya that has been consistently shining in the last year or two. The kind of consistency he showed with such a high scoring percentage was sensational and I hope he can keep it up. His confidence is at an all time high and T20 his cricket has been very competitive and this is a great achievement for any player as Surya kumar has left many big hitters in the game. “