Suryakumar Yadav out of India's ODI team despite becoming T20I captain!! Ajit Agarkar confirms the worst news

India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar has revealed the reason why Suryakumar Yadav was not considered for the ODI leg of India's tour of Sri Lanka. Suryakumar Yadav was recently appointed India's T20I captain after the retirement of Rohit Sharma from the format.

But Surya did not find any place in India's ODI team, which was a big surprise. Although Suryakumar Yadav has a poor ODI record, but his numbers in T20 cricket have been excellent, whether it's IPL or domestic cricket.

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Ajit Agarkar reveals why Suryakumar Yadav was not picked for the ODIs

While speaking to the media ahead of India's departure for the Sri Lanka tour, Agarkar revealed why Suryakumar Yadav was only picked for the T20Is and not the ODIs. According to Agarkar, Suryakumar Yadav is considered for T20Is currently and not for the longer format.

“At this point, Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) is being seen just as a T20 player, not being considered for ODIs,” Agarkar said.

Suryakumar Yadav has an excellent record in T20Is and is also ranked second in the ICC T20I Rankings currently. The dashing middle order batter has scored 2340 runs in 68 T20Is for India at an average of 43.33 and a strike rate of 167.74. He has scored 4 hundreds and 19 fifties in the format.

However, he has a poor ODI record with 773 runs in 37 ODIs at an average of just 25.76 and a strike rate of 105.02. His last ODI was the 2023 ODI World Cup final, which India lost to Australia. Since then, Suryakumar Yadav has been out of India's ODI team but is a trusted player in the T20I format.

His rise in T20I cricket has been phenomenal which is why he has been made the T20I captain of the team after Rohit Sharma's retirement.

"He is one of the deserving candidates" - Ajit Agarkar on Suryakumar Yadav

When asked by the reporters about Surya's promotion as India's T20I captain, Ajit Agarkar replied that he is one of the deserving candidates for the role and has the necessary abilities to lead the team. Moreover, he has less injury issues than Hardik Pandya which makes him the perfect candidate.

“He is one of the deserving candidates. He is one of the best T20 batters in the world. We feel that Surya has all the necessary qualities to be a good captain. We wanted a captain, who is likely to play all the games,” Agarkar said while addressing the media.

“Surya has the necessary ability to lead the team. We wanted a captain who is around. We will see how he will do in two years time,” Agarkar added.

India's tour of Sri Lanka will begin on July 27 with a three-match T20I series against the home team at Pallekele. The Indian team will then move to Colombo for a three-match ODI series, which will begin on August 2. Rohit Sharma will lead the ODI team.