Aakash Chopra reflects on Suryakumar Yadav’s ODI woes
Former India opener Aakash Chopra praised star batter Suryakumar Yadav for admitting his inadequacies in the ODI format. Suryakumar has not impressed in the ODI format, having scored 511 runs in 26 games with only two half-centuries so far.
Notably, Yadav was selected as a viable backup option for the 2023 ODI World Cup after key players such as KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant were injured. Despite numerous opportunities, the World No. 1 T20I batter has yet to flourish in the 50-over format.
“Surya has candidly, honestly, and openly accepted that his ODI record is really bad, it is nothing to be ashamed of, there is nothing to hide as well, and he already knows what everyone is saying,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra also stated that Suryakumar said that skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid have told him that he has to learn the format a little better.
“He also said that Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have told him that he has to understand the format a little more. He is not the only one and he is not the first player as well who is taking a little time to shift from one format to the other,” Chopra added.
Chopra cites example of Rohit Sharma
Chopra then emphasized how difficult it was for Rohit Sharma to understand the “pulse” of Test cricket. He also discussed the India captain’s transition to the opener’s position helped him thrive in the game’s longest format. The 45-year-old backed Suryakumar Yadav and stated that he needed some time to understand other formats.
“If you look at Rohit Sharma, when he was playing in the middle-order in the initial phase of his career, you left he was not comfortable with the format. He used to bat well and then play a bad shot. People used to wonder why because everything was going well and then came the bad shot. This was at the start of his Test career. After he began opening, he understood the pulse of the format. Now it feels like Rohit has fallen in love with Test cricket. He needed some time to understand the pulse of the other format,” Chopra concluded.
