Suryakumar Yadav’s adaptability has been praised by former Indian selector Saba Karim, who believes the Mumbai native may be utilized as a floater for the team before the Asia Cup in 2022. All eyes will be on the starting XI when India’s campaign in the multi-nation competition gets underway on August 28 against their bitter rivals Pakistan in Group A games. The 31-year-old began in the four games in the West Indies and scored a wonderful century from the middle order there. He appeared to be in great form.
Since Suryakumar has proven himself impossible to drop, either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik will be selected to serve as the wicketkeeper-batter. Given his all-around talent, Hardik Pandya will unquestionably make the playing XI, while Virat Kohli, despite not being the best of sorts, is expected to bat at number three throughout the tournament. Surya’s multifaceted skills will be helpful to move him up the order if necessary, or he can accelerate right away coming at the halfway point of the innings, according to Karim. He recognized the value that Suryakumar offers to the team at every position and wished for floaters in the middle of the Indian batting order. He disclosed his top three batsmen for India, adding that Rishabh Pant can add a left-handed option to the mix.
“Suryakumar Yadav is such a multi-dimensional player, I can keep him as a floater. I can push him up the order, if my two openers bat say till the 7th-8th over, I can push in SKY then. Or in case it is required, I can also push him down the order because he’s such a player who can give me value at whatever number he bats and I’m looking at my 4-5-6 as floaters,” Karim said. “I will in fact keep Rishabh Pant very handy. Because if I feel that I need to push in a left-hander at the top of the order, I can do that as well. But as of now my fixed 3 positions at the top would be Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli,” he added.
