‘He got three good balls, to be honest’ – India Skipper Rohit Sharma’s honest take on Suryakumar Yadav’s downfall in ODI series against Australia

Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20 expert, is undoubtedly not having the best of times currently. The batting prodigy in India’s just-concluded ODI series against Australia scored three straight golden ducks. Suryakumar is the best batter in T20Is, but he hasn’t yet made a name for himself in the 50-over format.

He has scored 433 runs at an average of 24.05 in 23 ODI games, which is significantly less than his potential and calibre warrant. His most recent downfall against Australia drew renewed attention, given his underwhelming ODI career debut. Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, acknowledged that Suryakumar was going through a hard patch but supported the player in question.

‘Don’t know how much to look into it’ – Rohit Sharma

“He only played three balls in three (games) this series. I don’t know how much to look into it. He got three good balls, to be honest. Today, it wasn’t that good ball; he should have gone forward. He knows best. He plays spin so well. We have seen that over the last couple of years. That’s why we held him back and gave him that role for the last 15-20 overs where he can play his game, but it’s really unfortunate he could only play three balls. That can happen to anyone. But the potential and ability are always there. He is just going through that phase right now,” said Rohit after the game.

In the series-deciding one-day international on Wednesday, leg spinner Adam Zampa picked up four wickets as the visitors defeated India by 21 runs to take the top spot in the ODI rankings. Australia scored 269 runs, or par, thanks to Mitchell Marsh’s 47 runs and Alex Carey’s 38 runs. Virat Kohli’s half-century went in vain as the hosts’ response saw them bowled out for 248 runs in 49.1 overs.

After losing the first game, the visitors prevailed in the series 2-1. Marsh won the man of the series award for his 194 runs in three innings. India had won seven straight bilateral series at home up to this point. Notably, Australia was the last foreign team to triumph in an ODI series on Indian soil. Australia responded with a 10-wicket victory after India had won the opening ODI by five wickets.