India's batter Suryakumar Yadav failed to display a spark in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia. He registered an unwanted record in ODI cricket as he fell on golden ducks in all three matches against the Aussies. India's captain Rohit Sharma has backed the misfiring Indian star, saying he is unfortunate and faced just three balls in the series.
Yadav, who is a sensational T20I batter, has replaced an injured Shreyas Iyer in the team and till now there is no definite date for Iyer's comeback from a back injury. As Yadav has also not been in form in the ODIs, here are three Indian players who can replace him in India's ODI squad.
1. Sanju Samson- A big definite player who can come into the Indian team and bat at No.4 is Sanju Samson. He has been in and out of the team on many occasions. The Indian star was part of India's T20I squad for the series against Sri Lanka but got injured during the first game. Samson travelled to the NCA and then shared a picture of him, calling that he is fit and ready to go. But the was not picked in the Australia ODIs.
Samson has decent numbers in ODIs. He has played just 11 matches and has an average of 66 with 2 fifties. He can anchor the innings and take the attack to the bowlers at the end.
Sanju Samson's numbers in ODIs
2. Rajat Patidar- Royal Challengers Bangalore batter and uncapped Indian Rajat Patidar is also an option to be tried in the middle order. Patidar has been with India's squad in the recent series but is yet to get a game under his belt. He earned his maiden India call in the South Africa ODI series in 2022 but has been in and out of the squad ever since. He was not part of the New Zealand series in 2023 and was neither included in the squad for the Australia series.
But Patidar has decent numbers in List-A cricket. The Madhya Pradesh born has experience of more than 50 List-A games and has three tons in those matches.
Rajat Patidar's numbers in List A
3. Deepak Hooda- Another Indian player who can walk into the team in place of Suryakumar is Deepak Hooda. Hooda is one of few Indians to have scored a T20I hundred. He was also part of the T20 World Cup in 2022. The 27-year-old has capability to bowl a few overs and if India need an extra bowler who does bat well on a particular day, Hooda can fill that void.
Hooda has played only 10 ODIs and has scored runs around 25 per match. Like Suryakumar, he has not scored many runs in ODIs.
Deepak Hooda's numbers in ODIs
Suryakumar Yadav has played 23 ODI matches so far and has scored 433 runs at an average of 24.05. He has got 2 fifties and has struck at over 102. The batter who has taken the T20 world by storm is yet to arrive completely in the 50-over setup. Everybody knows the potential he has. But time is running fast and as India play their next ODIs in August against West Indies, Yadav might find it very hard to find a place in that team if Shreyas Iyer comes in.
