Ravi Shastri Gives His No Nonsense Verdict On Shreyas Iyer vs Suryakumar Yadav For ICC World Cup 2023
Published - 03 Oct 2023, 12:11 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:19 AM
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has broken his silence and settled the debate between Suryakymar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer in the Indian playing XI for the World Cup.
Both the batters played impactful knocks heading into the World Cup. Iyer who was run out in the first ODI against Australia scored a century in the second. In that same match, SKY scored 72 off just 37 balls and played a key role in India finishing on 399/5 in the Indore ODI.
The Indian XI looks like a settled one with batters knowing what positions they are likely to bat in, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma will open the batting. Virat Kohli will bat at three followed by KL Rahul at five, Hardi at six, Jadeja at seven, and Ashwin at eight followed by the two pacers Bumrah and Siraj with Kuldeep being the specialist spinner.
Ashwin’s return has for now kept him ahead in the race at eight than Shardul Thakur. Once again ahead of a World Cup the debate is around who should bat at number four for India. Three batters are fighting for that one spot Iyer, Surya, and Ishan Kishan.
Also Read: India Playing 11 vs Netherlands: ICC World Cup 2023 Warm-Up Match
Suryakumar Yadav Becomes An X-Factor In A Big Game: Ravi Shastri
Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Ravi Shastri has picked his choice between Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer. He further said that the batter he chose gives India an X-factor in the World Cup.
“I’ll be watching him closely, very very closely. Because if your top order is firing, so you have 6-7-8 players, you will play him or Shreyas Iyer at this moment. But if all the batters are getting runs then that guy becomes the X factor in a big game, he can win you a game. Because at 6-7-8, the damage he can do with Hardik, they can just take the game away from the opposition in the last 6-7 overs. So that X factor you gotta think of, I can imagine that your batting is struggling but it’s not the case,” Shastri told ESPNCricinfo.
Shastri further said that Surya will be in his 12-player list with the batter being given games on flat tracks and on pitches that turn. SKY is a relatively good player of spin and can counter the threat of top spinners in opponent teams.
“And in Indian conditions, very rarely it will struggle. You know you expect 1-2-3-4 – one hundred. He will always be in my 12. You have to see the conditions. A real flat track – I would think of Surya. Because you expect the other 3-4 to get runs. If it’s (conditions are) tough, tricky, or seaming then maybe you don’t know. You have 5 proper batters, all five similar, instead of that have one X-factor – could be a left-hander could be a Surya,” Shastri added.
India begin their World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.
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