"Suryakumar Yadav Should Carry His T20 Approach In ODIs.."- Says Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir reckons Suryakumar Yadav can be successful in ODI cricket like in T20Is if he takes his t20 approach to ODIs. He pointed out that Glenn Maxwell, who has enjoyed success in the longer white-ball format has a similar approach. Suryakumar Yadav scored 56 runs off 36 balls guiding India to 180/7 in 19.3 overs in a rain-affected second T20I against South Africa in Gqeberha.

Gautam Gambhir was asked during a discussion on Star Sports about Suryakumar Yadav becoming the fastest to 2000 T20I runs in terms of deliveries faced. While refraining from criticizing Surya openly, he said that a similar approach in ODIs will yield him greater success and he will be considered a multi-format player.

“I don’t want to be someone who is going to be critical about Surya, but the most surprising thing is that he is so dangerous in T20 cricket but he hasn’t shown that range in ODI cricket. Maxwell is as dangerous in ODI cricket as he is in T20 cricket,” elaborated Gambhir.

Gambhir added, “He scored a double hundred in the World Cup and the fastest hundred. However, if you check out Surya’s career, there is a massive difference between ODI and T20 cricket. If Maxwell can approach ODI cricket like T20s, no one stops Suryakumar Yadav from having that approach.”

Suryakumar Yadav Has To Change His Mentality In ODIs, Says Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir feels that Suryakumar Yadav needs to change his mentality more than anything in ODIs. The cricketer-turned-commentator observed the shift in Suryakumar Yadav’s batting as soon as the format was shifted while he acknowledged that the conditions in the World Cup were different. Suryakumar Yadav failed massively during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

Gautam Gambhir highlighted that Suryakumar Yadav was picked in India‘s World Cup squad to play impactful knocks. He said, “At the most, you would fail and you would be dropped. You were kept in the World Cup squad so that you could play such knocks, that you could bring such an impact. I believe if Suryakumar Yadav gets a chance in 50-over cricket going forward, he needs to approach it like T20s.”

Gambhir added that a player cannot have such a massive difference between his T20I and ODI numbers. He stated, “There is a huge difference in the graph between ODI and T20I cricket, there cannot be such a massive difference for the same player. I agree that you can lose form but that will happen in every format. I don’t remember Suryakumar Yadav playing any such knock in ODI cricket.”

While Gambhir acknowledged that a player might take a few innings to get settled in the 50-over format he was quick to mention that Yadav has played a considerable amount of ODIs. He has still failed to create the sort of impact in ODIs that he has created in T20Is.