‘Suryakumar in ODIs is a non-negotiable, can be tried at number six’

TIL Desk Sports/ Veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes Suryakumar Yadav playing in the ODIs is a “non-negotiable” while adding that he would like to see the right-handed batter being tried as a number six batter.

In both the ODIs between India and Australia, Suryakumar was trapped lbw by inswingers from left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc on the very first ball he faced in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. In his last nine innings in ODIs, Suryakumar has made only 110 runs, with doubts being raised on whether he can replicate his T20I blitzkriegs in a 50-over format.

“He would have gotten out on those two deliveries even in T20Is. It is not that because it is ODIs, he is getting out. You have to understand that this is high-quality bowling irrespective of the format.” “He played the two ODIs now and prior to that he didn’t play consistently. Shreyas Iyer was the preferred number four and rightfully so and Surya was the backup option. Where we need to be with Surya is to always remind ourselves of the talent he is,” Karthik said.