New Delhi [India]: Ahead of the first T20I against England, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra shared his thoughts on Suryakumar Yadav’s performance in the T20 format, suggesting that the 34-year-old should take the No. 3 batting position.
Team India is gearing up to take on England in the opening match of the T20I series at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Suryakumar Yadav made his T20I debut in 2021 against England and has since played 78 matches, amassing 2,570 runs at an impressive strike rate of 167.86, with an average of 40.79.
Speaking exclusively to Star Sports, Aakash Chopra shared his perspective on Suryakumar’s recent form in T20Is, noting that his performances over the past year have been average. Chopra highlighted that batting at No. 4 appears to be less effective for Suryakumar and suggested he thrives better at No. 3.
“Honestly, for Surya, it’s a little interesting. If we look at his T20 numbers over the last year, they are quite middling. It’s been a relatively dry spell for him in terms of runs. Batting at No. 4, I think, is somewhat counterproductive for him. Surya should be batting at No. 3, but he has given that spot to Tilak. This means he’ll have to wait because, at the start of the innings when runs are easier to come by, Surya often has less time to fully express himself. So, it’s going to be challenging again,” Chopra said in a release from Star Sports.
The five-match T20I series between India and England is set to begin on January 22 in Kolkata. The second and third matches will take place on January 25 in Chennai and January 28 in Rajkot, respectively. Pune will host the fourth match on January 31, while the series finale will be held in Mumbai on February 2.
India’s squad for the T20I series against England:
Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, and Dhruv Jurel.
