T20 World Cup 2021: If Suryakumar Yadav Is Fit, I Would Definitely Play Him Over Ishan Kishan Against Afghanistan - Ashish Nehra

Former India pacer Ashish Nehra opined that if Suryakumar Yadav is fit, then he should slot back in the line-up straightaway for Ishan Kishan in India’s upcoming game versus Afghanistan on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.

Suryakumar missed the clash against New Zealand because of a lower back spasm and hence was resting in his hotel room. His Mumbai Indians teammate Ishan Kishan was brought in the eleven.

However, since Kishan had shown tremendous form as an opener recently, he was promoted to open the batting alongside KL Rahul, with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli pushing down one position.

Therefore, Ashish Nehra feels that Yadav, if fit, should come back to his number 4 place, with both Sharma and Kohli promoted back to their usual positions.

“If it was in my hands, I would definitely play Suryakumar Yadav. It’s not that Ishan Kishan is not a good player, you cannot judge someone based on one bad game,” Ashish Nehra told Cricbuzz.

“I would play Suryakumar Yadav because one, if he plays then Rohit Sharma can go back to the opening, which I feel is a very crucial position and there isn’t a better player than him to do it. Secondly, Virat Kohli can go back to number 3, because number 4 In the T20s is too low a position for him.”

Suryakumar Yadav can hit boundaries and take on singles as well: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra further highlighted that Afghanistan have three high-quality spinners in Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. However, the former pacer asserted that a batsman like Suryakumar would be more equipped to play the spinners than Kishan.

“Thirdly, you are playing against Afghanistan, which is a spin-heavy team. And when you talk about playing spin, the way Suryakumar Yadav has been playing the last few years, that is why you have picked him in the squad,” Nehra furthe

“This is a big ground and you can’t just deal in sixes. Ishan Kishan is someone who deals in sixes. Suryakumar Yadav can hit boundaries and take on singles as well. So if Suryakumar Yadav is fit, I would definitely play him,” Nehra added.

This is a must-win game for India, who have two losses in as many matches. A defeat to Afghanistan will knock Kohli’s side out of the tournament.

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