‘You had a doubt’ - Former India captain hits out at Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma for backing Suryakumar Yadav

Rohit Sharma (from left) and Suryakumar Yadav (Source - Twitter)

India have suffered a 1-2 loss against Australia in the recently-concluded ODI series. This is India’s first series loss at home since 2019. The Indian batting lineup seemed to struggle against the Aussie bowling line in all three matches. The main concern for the Indian team has been the form of Suryakumar Yadav.

Suryakumar has been in sensational form in T20Is over the past year. With his spectacular batting, he became the number one batter in the format and also won the award for T20I cricketer of the year for 2022. However, Surya’s form hasn’t been that great in the longer format of the game.

The stats of the 32-year-old are completely different in the ODIs. Recently he registered an unwanted record before his name after getting three consecutive golden ducks in a recently ended ODI series against Australia. Surya had a great opportunity to fix his spot at number four in Shreyas Iyer’s absence, but he failed miserably as he didn’t score a single run in the three ODIs.

However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma backed Surya for failures and stated he will be getting more chances Iyer is not available. Former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja, who also led the side in a few occasions, was not happy with the team’s decision to send Surya at number seven in the series decider in Chennai. He also stated that the management should give him some time.

“You played him, some people thought that he shouldn't play, but you did back him. But you also had a doubt, that's a fact. It was visible through your decision. You thought 'he isn't in form, so we can't send him at this moment because he is failing against swing'. When he came at the end, the game became even more difficult,” Jadeja told Cricbuzz.

"When you're going through a good time, it doesn't matter if you make the batter wait. But if the form isn't good and you let the player wait for his batting, his mind would run in different directions. He is a human being!” the former cricketer further stated.

'There's something in the mind that affects your game' - Jadeja

Jadeja also took the example of Virat Kohli who was also going through a rough patch last year. He stated that there can be something in the player’s mind that affect their game.

“He's the same Suryakumar Yadav who scored 360 degrees across the ground. It isn't as if he doesn't know how to play. It's all about the mind. When someone like Virat Kohli faced so many months out of form, it means there's something in the mind that affects your game. If you're thinking too much, and you're making the player wait for his batting, the doubt only increases,” Jadeja said.

“In our days, it used to be said that if someone isn't in form, and if he plays at no.4 and you send him at no.7, it will always be more challenging. You will always feel more comfortable when you bat up the order. When you come at no.7, whatever strength you have in your batting, you've already lost 60-80 percent of it. You haven't made it any easier. You can only regain form when you play ahead. You can't save anyone. If you try to save someone, this game will only kill you more,” he concluded.