Yuvraj Singh gives bombastic take on Suryakumar Yadav amid hat-trick of golden ducks

Suryakumar Yadav’s three consecutive golden ducks in the recently-concluded ODI series against Australia at home has created quite a big discussion over India’s possible batting line-up for the upcoming 2023 World Cup.

The No.1 ranked T20I batter, picked in place of injured Shreyas Iyer, failed to make his case for the World Cup team, leaving veterans and experts concerned as the No.4 debate as re-ignited. Amid the talk, India legend Yuvraj Singh has made a bombastic statement on Suryakumar’s three golden ducks.

Suryakumar was never the first-choice player for India despite his blistering form in T20 cricket. Iyer had locked himself as India’s No.4 since the previous World Cup. But an unfortunate back injury, that re-occurred during the Ahmedabad Test against Australia, ruled him out of the home ODI series, leaving Suryakumar with a chance to push his case as a first-choice player in the World Cup.

However, much to his misfortune, two unplayable deliveries from Mitchell Starc saw him suffer back-to-back golden ducks in the first two matches before fate served him a similar against Ashton Agar in the third game.

With Iyer slated to be out for months owing to his injury and probably more if he opts for a surgery, Suryakumar had a golden opportunity in hand. But veteran cricketers feel that the No.4 debate has started again owing to the dismissals.

Despite the talk, Yuvraj has backed the India star to bounce back strongly and has predicted that he will play a vital role for India in the ODI World Cup if given an opportunity.

“Every sports person goes thru ups & downs in their career! We’ve all experienced it at sum point. I believe @surya_14kumar is a key player for India & will play an imp role in the #WorldCup if given the opportunities. Let’s back our players coz our Surya will rise again,” he tweeted.

Besides Yuvraj, Suryakumar also has the backing of his captain, Rohit Sharma, who feels that those dismissals could have happened to any batter.

“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 last couple of years. That’s why we held him back and give 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 is always there. He is just going through that phase right now,” he had said after the third Australia match.