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The former two-time ICC Cricket World Cup winner, Tom Moody, has questioned the inclusion of Suryakumar Yadav in the Asia Cup 2023 squad for Team India. The Australian stated that the star Indian batter is lucky to have found a place in the Indian side for the continental cricket tournament, which will commence from August 30 onwards.
While Suryakumar Yadav has been one of the best batters for Team India in T20Is, since his debut in the shortest format of the game, he is yet to translate that success in the ODIs. During his two-year career in the 50 overs format, he has played 26 matches, scoring 511 runs at a poor average of 24.33, which includes three consecutive golden ducks against Australia during the home series in March of this year.
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During his recent appearance on Star Sports, Tom Moody was quick to point out the career trajectory of SKY as a limited overs player, with contrasting fortunes in ODIs and T20Is. He was quoted as saying, as per NDTV Sports, “The player that I think is lucky to be in that side is Suryakumar Yadav. I know that he's a player that we all love to watch, but he is yet to really master the 50-over game. I think he's played over 20 matches now and at a very modest return.”
“He's a genius in T20 cricket. But the 50-over cricket is a completely different format, and he's yet to really crack the code for that. You know, I just don't think he's gonna do it at the last minute,” the 57-year-old added.
The former coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad also suggested that Yashasvi Jaiswal would have been a better option in the Asia Cup 2023 squad in comparison to Suryakumar Yadav. He opined, “And to me, there are better options. Uh, available. Uh, I would have much rather seen a younger player like a Jaiswal in that side. Or take that position and play a wrist spinner. Um, you know another wrist spinner.”
