Last Update on: March 23rd, 2023 at 10:23 pm

Indian Cricket Team’s captain Rohit Sharma recently revealed the reasoning behind Suryakumar Yadav‘s demotion to no. 7 in the batting order in the series-deciding last ODI against Australia.

While chasing 270, India got to a score when the second wicket fell. Yadav, who batted at number 4 in the last two ODIs, was expected to walk in. Instead, KL Rahul was promoted to that spot. More surprises came when Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya were sent in at No. 5 and 6 respectively. India did lose the match by 21 runs.

Suryakumar came to bat at number 7 and was bowled by Ashton Agar on his first ball, making it 3 golden ducks for the Mumbai batter.

The decision to send him at no.7 left experts and commentators perplexed, as the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Aakash Chopra, and Ajay Jadeja were confused by the choice.

IPL 2023 | India National Cricket Team | IND vs AUS 2023 | India vs Australia 2023

After the match, Indian captain Rohit Sharma revealed the reasoning behind sending Suryakumar Yadav at no. 7. Pointing to the latter’s prowess against spin, Sharma said that Yadav was left to face the Aussie attack in the last 15-20 over, but that did not pan out.

“He plays spin really well which is why we wanted to hold him back and give him the last 15-20 overs where he could play his game. But it’s really unfortunate he could only play three balls in the series. That can happen to anyone. The potential, the quality, is always there. He is just going through that (lean) phase right now… Once we played the first 10 overs, the ball did not swing at all. There was no question of the swing where Surya could be troubled or anything like that. It was a tactical move. We wanted to use his potential at the back end along with Hardik. These two players would have been ideal for us but unfortunately, they got out,” Rohit Sharma said.

India could also be trying out different batting orders, as this was the team’s last ODI at home before the World Cup in October-November.

Rohit Sharma also discussed the reason behind sending Axar Patel at no.5

Another surprising order call in the match was sent in Axar Patel at no.5, ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja. Rohit Sharma also explained why this was done, stating Patel’s recent batting form as the reason.

“Axar, being in the form that he is, we wanted to ask him to go in and bat the way he does and take the spinners on. That is why we pushed him up the order. Hardik is obviously the best player at No. 6. We wanted to keep him there and then see between Surya and Jadeja, who we can ask to go before.”

India will likely play ODIs next on a tour to West Indies later this year. That will come after the upcoming IPL 2023 season and the World Test Championship final after that.

Also read: Ex-Pakistan Batter Imran Nazir Claims To Have Been Poisoned At The “Peak Of His Career”

IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma Reveals The Reason Behind Suryakumar Yadav’s Demotion To No. 7 Against Australia In The Last ODI

Rohit Sharma also discussed the reason behind sending Axar Patel at no.5

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