Indian cricketers Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson are all over social media for the last couple of days. While Surya registered a hat-trick of first-ball ducks in the three-match ODI series, on the other hand, Samson is trending because of not getting enough chances despite Surya’s repeated failures in the 50-over format.
Surya’s repeated failures in the ODI format have brought him under the scanner of criticism. While he is yet to do anything wrong in the shortest format of the game ever since making his debut in the year 2021, in the ODIs he has failed time and again to make an impact.
In the 50-over format, he averages a mere 24 and has crossed the fifty-run mark only twice in 21 innings. On the other hand, Samson averages 66 in the 11 ODIs that he has got.
Kapil Dev Shuts Suryakumar Yadav’s Critics
Meanwhile, several experts and cricketers along with the many fans of Samson are protesting against Suryakumar Yadav while backing the inclusion of Sanju in the ODI format for India.
Amidst all this, legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev said that one shouldn’t compare Samson and Surya. Kapil said the team management is doing the right thing by backing a player of SKY’s calibre. Speaking on the ABP News, Dev said:
“A cricketer who has played so well will always get more chances. Don’t compare Surya with Sanju Samson, it doesn’t seem right. If Sanju goes through a bad phase then you will talk about somebody else. This should not happen. If the team management has decided to back Suryakumar Yadav then he should be given more chances. Yes, people will talk, give their opinion but ultimately it’s the management’s call,”
Notably, SKY, who was sent at no.4 in the first two ODIs was sent at No.7 in the third and final ODI in Chennai. However, even that didn’t work well for SKY as he was cleaned up by Ashton Agar for another first-ball duck
Speaking about the shuffling of his position, Kapil said:
“It’s very easy to talk after the match is finished. Maybe the idea behind sending Suryakumar at No.7 was to give him an opportunity as a finisher. This (shuffling of the batting order) is nothing new in ODIs. This has happened many times before. Yes, at times it can happen that a batter’s confidence is dented if he has been dragged down the order. But the onus rests on the player to tell his captain that ‘I can handle myself in the top order.’ The coach and captain must have taken the decision with particular thinking,”
