Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has highlighted Suryakumar Yadav's batting woes in ODIs, saying he needs clarity of mind and should find his own way of rotating the strike in the middle overs.
Suryakumar was named in the 15-member squad for the ODI World Cup, set to be held in India starting next month, despite having struggled to make a similar impact as T20s in the format.
Although Bangar praised his ability to churn out boundaries at any point in the innings, he asserted that the 32-year-old Mumbaikar would need a clear mind on how to keep the runs coming in the middle overs.
"He (SKY) has already said that Rahul Dravid is there, and he has spoken to him. The biggest factor is that boundaries don't come that easily in the middle part of the innings. When three or four wickets go, then how do you find the boundaries is the big problem because the ball becomes old?" Bangar told Star Sports.
"Suryakumar Yadav is a versatile player; he definitely targets boundaries and where to hit them. He has a very good idea of where to hit them, but if there is one thing he needs to do, it is to find out how to bat between the 25th and the 40th over.
"I don't think he is clear in his head and heart about how to score runs in this period. He can play like he does in the T20 format, but if wickets fall, he needs to find out how to rotate strike between the 25th and the 40th over, and he needs to find his own method to score runs here, which he is obviously thinking about.”
Surya's ODI numbers are not so encouraging, having managed just 511 runs in 24 innings at a mediocre average of 24.33 and a strike rate of 101.39, including just a couple of half-centuries, with his top score being 64.
He is not a guaranteed starter in the playing XI in ODIs, as has been the case in the ongoing Asia Cup, where he hasn't featured in the two matches that the Men in Blue have played so far.
‘Only play him if opportunity available, now isn’t the time to experiment’
While Bangar said SKY should be given a chance whenever there is an appropriate opportunity in the team, he warned that he should not be included just for the sake of giving him enough game time.
"According to me, if the team has an opening where he can play, he definitely should. But, to put him in the starting eleven only for him to get game time, I don't think the team needs to do all of that," he said.
"And, the players which are in the starting eleven are very good players; whenever they get the chance they come and straight away have the ability to have an impact on the game. And, whatever preparation they have in the nets, there are a lot of resources which can help them.
"So, with that, they can prepare and train and continue the momentum, but now is not the stage to experiment and play a player only to get game time and change the combination just for that."
