After being overlooked for the Australia tour, Suryakumar Yadav stole the limelight on Wednesday with his exuberant match-winning knock against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Abu Dhabi. The right-hander smoked 79 off just 43 balls to steer Mumbai Indians (MI) past the finishing line with 5 balls to spare.
Looking in sublime touch, Suryakumar stayed at the crease until the end to finish the job for the defending champions. After the departure of the opening pair of Ishan Kishan and Quinton de Kock, Surya took charge and didn't let the game slip off MI's hands.
Stitching his brilliance around 10 fours and 3 sixes, he played a pivotal role in MI's convincing victory. Following Surya's batting show, India veteran Harbhajan Singh took it to Twitter to remind selectors about their mistake ahead of Australia tour.
"Class inn yet again @surya_14kumar hope selectors are watching him play.. well played @mipaltan @IPL," wrote Harbhajan.
The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has been facing the heat of fans since announcing the national squads for the tour Down Under. Despite giving chances to multiple fresh faces, Suryakumar's absence from the list has been a hot topic of debate, leading to a furore on social media.
30-year-old Suryakumar should've been slotted at least in the shortest format, according to many fans. A vital cog in MI's wheel, Suryakumar has been delivering for the Rohit Sharma-led side since the past three seasons.
In his last three years with the Mumbai franchise, he has amassed nine half-centuries while batting at an average over 30.00. In the on-going IPL edition, Suryakumar has gathered 362 runs in 12 games at a brilliant strike-rate of 155.36.
After the announcement of India squads for the Australia tour, Harbhajan had asked the BCCI to check Suryakumar's records. "Don’t know what else @surya_14kumar needs to do get picked in the team India… he has been performing every ipl and Ranji season… different people different rules I guess @BCCI I request all the selectors to see his records," the veteran off-spinner had tweeted.
