Team India clinched another series win against the West Indies, their 13th consecutive with a 200-run win in the third ODI. While most of the batters came good even Suryakumar Yadav, who has been struggling in the ODI format for a long time, however, his performances paled in comparison to the others who all made a significant contribution. Surya, who made the headlines with three golden ducks in a row against Australia in March, hasn't experienced the same kind of form in ODI cricket like he has in T20Is and the management might start losing their patience very soon over him.
Surya has scored 127 runs in 9 ODIs in 2023 with scores of 4, 31, 14, 0, 0, 0, 19, 24 and 35. Surya averages 14.11 in nine matches and 26 in three games in the recently concluded series with 78 runs in three matches against the West Indies. With Sanju Samson scoring a quickfire 50, he might have just dropped his hat in the mix for a spot in the middle-order as Shreyas Iyer's backup and Surya's chances may soon start to diminish, even though coach Rahul Dravid's words suggest otherwise.
The lack of a big score forced the media to ask Dravid about Surya's poor run in ODIs after the second game in Barbados and the coach replied, "Look, Surya is a really good player, there's no doubt about it. His performances have shown that, especially in T20 cricket, even in domestic white-ball cricket. He has some very good performances. Unfortunately, he'd be the first one to admit his ODI numbers aren't up to his high standards he's set in T20s. But he's also learning about one-day cricket.
"He's played a lot of competitive T20 cricket through the IPL before he made his India debut, but in terms of one-day cricket he hasn't played that much, there's no IPL in one-day cricket. So I think he's also learning, trying to figure out how to bat in those middle overs. He's a talent, he's a really good player, we want to give him as many opportunities as we can. Upto him now to take those opportunities and use them. But yeah, in the kind of set-up we are, we like to give people as many chances we possibly can," Dravid had said.
When the coach is so positive about a player, he is bound to get a few extra chances compared to a certain player and hence till the time KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer don't return, Surya will continue to get extra chances with the team management hoping that he does come out with a smashing performance in some game or the other.
