Brian Lara has made it clear. He wants Suryakumar Yadav at the No. 3 spot in the Indian cricket team, and if it means that Virat Kohli has to bat somewhere else, so be it. Just yesterday, Surya scored an incredible hundred against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring 102 runs in just 51 balls.
Suryakumar, who is the No. 1 T20I batter in the world, has been the India cricket team’s best batsman since he made his debut in 2021. Talking with PTI, he said that SKY must bat 3 and how he can change the outcome of the match on his own.
Suryakumar must bat at 3: Brian Lara
“My one advice, and I don’t know if you’re going to like it or not, but Sky has to bat at three. He just has to bat at three. He is one of the greatest T20 players in the game. And you speak to players like Sir Viv, and he will tell you he used to want to get out there in the middle.“
“And I feel that that’s the same thing with SKY. So, get in on it as quickly as possible. He’s not an opener, get him out there and if he can bat for 10-15 overs, you know what’s going to happen.
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“He’s going to put you in an unassailable position if you bat him first, or he’s going to win the game if he’s batting second. And then let everybody sort of position themselves outside of that, but a good structure is important,” he added.
Making Suryakumar Yadav bat at three means that only two of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal can open the inning. But Brian Lara feels it doesn’t matter who opens; you “just find a way to make Suryakumar bat at three.”
Suryakumar vs Kohli: Stats at No. 3
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suryakumar Yadav | 14 | 479 | 39.91 | 160.73 | 1 | 4 |
| Virat Kohli | 80 | 3076 | 53.96 | 135.26 | 0 | 32 |
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