With India aiming to arrest the middle-order woes ahead of the 3rd Test against England, former cricketer Farokh Engineer has picked his bet in the middle-order in place of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. The third Test is scheduled to commence on August 25 at Headingley in Leeds.
Rahane and Pujara have come under the scanner lately after their strings of low scores. However, the duo stood firm for the team in the second Test, stitching a partnership of 100 runs. Farokh Engineer pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav can be included in the XI by replacing either of the two.
He highlighted the qualities of the batter as he termed Yadav as a match-winner who will be a valuable addition to the team.
View this post on Instagram
Speaking to Sports Tak, the 83-year-old stated:
“Firstly, I am a huge fan of Suryakumar Yadav. I think he is a class player. I would certainly prefer him to Pujara or Rahane. They are class players, very good players, but Suryakumar Yadav is a match-winner. With Shreyas Iyer out of the team with injury, I think Suryakumar should certainly be in the team. He is an aggressive player; he will get you a quick hundred, a quick 70-80 and is a fabulous batsman, fabulous fielder, and a wonderful human being as well.”
Suryakumar Yadav is the trump card in the side: Farokh Engineer
Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw were added to the squad as replacements after Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, and Shubman Gill were ruled out. Farokh Engineer believes the Headingly wicket and will be batting friendly and it can be a great opportunity for Yadav to make his debut in red-ball cricket.
“People are usually reluctant to change a winning combination but like they say ‘horses for courses’. It depends on the wicket in Headingley. I don’t see it being too different. The Headingley pitch will be a good Test wicket. It’s considered to be one of the finest batting pitches in the world. So, I would like to see the inclusion of Suryakumar Yadav. He is the trump card in the team,” Engineer added.
