Suryakumar Yadav is one of the most free-flowing and versatile batsmen in white-ball cricket. Right from the first ball he faced in international cricket, Suryakumar Yadav has imprerssed one and all with his 360-degrees display of batting. As a batsman, Suryakumar who is populary known as SKY, has a delightful mix of orthodox strokes and some of the most outrageous strokes. He can play a solid looking cover drive on one ball and a reverse-scoop over third man on the next ball, that too with the same level of effeciency.
In the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, Suryakumar Yadav played an absolute blinder of a knock against Hong Kong and forced cricket fans and experts to say think whether he should bat at no. 3 position, which is presently occupied by Virat Kohli.
Let’s have a look at 3 reasons why Suryakumar Yadav should bat at number 3 for India in T20s:
1) In case of a slow start by the openers
We have seen that players like KL Rahul, who opens the innings with Rohit Sharma in T20 cricket, likes taking his time before opening up. He makes up for the low strike rate after getting his eye in, but if he gets out after consuming 10-15 deliveries, it creates a lot of pressure on the batting unit. And, considering Virat Kohli is also going through a lean patch and he is struggling to score quickly, having Suryakumar Yadav at no. 3 gives India a better chance of counter-attacking ang getting back into the game, even after a slow start.
2) Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Karthik can manage finishing duties brilliantly
Suryakumar Yadav is one of India’s best batsman in T20 cricket, at the moment. And it’s an unsaid rule in T20 cricket that your best batsmen should play the maximum number of deliveries. Considering India’s power-packed middle and lower-middle order that includes the likes of Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Karthik, India must push SKY at 3 and make use of the field restrictions and hard ball, in case of an early wicket. Suryakumar Yadav has a lot of aerial strokes in his armoury and he is also brilliant at manupilating the field.
3) Virat Kohli should open the innings
Considering KL Rahul’s rough patch and injury prone body, India shouldn’t invest too heavily on him for the T20 World Cup 2022. Virat Kohli, who has shown some signs of comeback in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, should open the innings with Rohit Sharma and play freely at the top of the order without having any scoreboard pressure on his mind. This will allow Suryakumar Yadav to bat at number 3 and anchor the innings in case of an early wicket or two. Rohit, Virat and SKY are the best top 3 options for India in T20 cricket.
