Team India captain Rohit Sharma was honest about flamboyant batsman Suryakumar Yadav’s poor ODI performance. Interestingly, the Men in Blue were defeated by the Aussies by 21 runs in the series decider on Wednesday in Chennai.
Suryakumar returned to the pavilion with a record third consecutive golden duck in the series while chasing 270 runs. In the 36th over of India’s run chase, spinner Ashton Agar dismissed the 32-year-old.
Following the series’ end, Rohit opined that the dismissal was ‘unfortunate’. Moreover, the Indian skipper acknowledged the right- hander’s lean patch in ODIs.
Rohit Sharma comments on Suryakumar after the 3rd ODI
“He only played three balls in three (games) this series. I don’t know how much to look into it. He got three good balls, to be honest. Today, it wasn’t that good ball; he should have gone forward.”
Said Rohit. The Men in Blues captain further added saying,
“He knows best. He plays spin so well. We have seen that over the last couple of years,”
said Rohit post the game.
Sharma concluded by adding,
“That’s why we held him back and give him that role for the last 15-20 overs where he can play his game, but it’s really unfortunate he could only play three balls. That can happen to anyone. But the potential and ability is always there. He is just going through that phase right now,”
The top-ranked T20I batter has struggled to get going in ODIs, casting doubt on his performance and status in the team. Suryakumar joined an unwelcome list of batsmen who had successive ducks with his record third golden duck.
Incidentally, the Mumbai-born cricketer became only the sixth Indian batsman in 50-over history to record three golden ducks in a row. Others on this list include Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah. Nevertheless, Steve Smith and company staged a thrilling comeback to win the series (1-2) in Chennai.
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