As per former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa, Suryakumar Yadav would be more suited to No. 3 since the playing style and the composition of the Indian T20I team fits him well. Suryakumar has taken over as T20I team in Australia. Uthappa was of the opinion that Suryakumar must not put his batting position at risk by the extra burden of captaincy on his shoulder.
“It’s like you are stuck between a rock and a hard place because it’s a decision where you need to see your performances and manage your captaincy as well. It’s a very difficult decision to make. However, I feel he should come in one position. In my opinion, there is no better position than No. 3 for Suryakumar in T20 cricket,” stated Uthappa in a video on his YouTube channel.
The ex-wicketkeeper-batsman also said that Suryakumar Yadav may alternatingly change No. 3 to No. 4 in the case of either of the top-order batters being dismissed. He too acknowledged that Suryakumar was not to play at a lower position than second down.
“If the top three get set, you can bring flexibility after that. You can bring left-right combinations. In the Asia Cup, they probably decided that Tilak Varma would come at No.3 if a left-hander got out and Surya would come if a right-hander got out. That’s still alright, but Suryakumar Yadav shouldn’t come below No. 4. A top-order batter has to make a lot of adjustments if he has to bat below No. 4.”
Robin Uthappa
In T20I, Suryakumar has the record of scoring 820 and 1614 runs in No. 3 and No. 4 and a strike rate of 159.22 and 167.25 respectively.
In the opening T20I of a five match series against Australia in Canberra, Suryakumar was unbeaten on 39 out of 24. The match was called off as a no result because rain stopped the play after 9.4 overs of the Indian innings.
