The announcement of Team India’s squad for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka was a bittersweet moment for Suryakumar Yadav. While the aggressive batsman would have been delighted to captain the team in the T20Is, he was also left out of the ODI squad, with the selectors and new head coach Gautam Gambhir making their stance clear. Suryakumar was included in India’s ODI World Cup squad for 2023, but failed to repay the trust the selectors had placed in him. Thus, the 360-degree batsman missed out on a spot in the Indian team for the ODIs in the island nation.
Suryakumar may be considered the world’s best T20 batsman, but the same cannot be said of his 50-over game. In the 37 ODIs he has played, the Mumbai batsman has an average of just 25.76. Many have questioned his ability to play patiently and gradually increase his scoring rate.
With just six ODIs to be played before the ICC Champions Trophy next year, the selectors are keen to give other players a chance. According to the Indian Express, the name of Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Reddy is being talked about, especially because of the three-dimensional skill set he brings to the table. Hardik Pandya remains the best seam bowling all-rounder in India’s white-ball cricket, but he was not involved in the ODI series against Lanka. However, he could be called back for future assignments.
Gautam Gambhir’s ‘Data-Driven’ Approach
Like India’s ODI captain Rohit Sharma, even head coach Gautam Gambhir is known to rely on data before making selection decisions. In this regard, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar have emerged as tempting choices in white-ball cricket. Thus, Ravindra Jadeja was not selected.
However, in the Sri Lanka series, Ryan Parag is one of the players who can compete. Parag is not only a convenient batsman in the batting order, but also has the ability to chip in after a few overs. Parag’s consistent performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy speak volumes about his skills as an all-rounder, and he has emerged as one of the most consistent performers over the past few seasons.
However, the Assam star may not be the primary option as the team also has more experienced stars like Axar and Sundar.
India ODI Squad vs Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (c), Rishabh Pant (c), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleej Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
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