Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav's omission from India's tour Down Under led to a social media outrage. Despite delivering consistently in the IPL as well as domestic circuit, 30-year-old Suryakumar has been overlooked by national selectors, according to many fans.
Many popular names including Harbhajan Singh and Manoj Tiwary also questioned the selectors for neglecting the right-handed batsman. Currently a part of the Mumbai Indians contingent, Suryakumar has scored 283 runs in 11 games at a strike rate of 149 in the on-going IPL 2020.
With Rohit Sharma's exclusion from the Australia tour, many felt that Suryakumar deserved a place in the Indian middle-order, at least in the shortest format of the game.
Former India cricketer, Dilip Vengsarkar, also joined the bandwagon and questioned Surya's truancy from the national set-up. Labelling the Mumbai Indians' player as 'one of the most talented batsmen', Vengskarkar even asked BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to look into the matter.
"I'm astounded at the omission of 'Surya,' who is currently one of the most talented batsmen in the country, from the teams selected for the Australian tour. As far as sheer potential is concerned, I can compare Surya with the best in the Indian team. He has scored runs consistently. I don't know what else he has to do to merit a place in the Indian team," Vengsarkar told the Times of India.
"A batsman is at his peak from the age of 26 to 34. and I feel Surya (30) is at the peak of his career. If form and fitness are not the criteria, then what is it? Can anybody explain?
"With Rohit (Sharma) out of the team due to (a hamstring) injury, Surya should have been there to strengthen the middle order. BCCI president Ganguly should question the motive behind dropping Surya," he added.
Talking about Suryakumar's impressive domestic record, he has scored over 5000 First-class runs at an average of 44.01, including 14 tons and 26 half-centuries. After being snubbed from the national set-up yet again, Suryakumar will aim to prove his worth and deliver for MI in the remaining fixtures of the current IPL edition. The defending champions are one of the favourites to lift the coveted trophy this year.
