Veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik feels Suryakumar Yadav should get an opportunity against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The much-awaited series gets underway on February 9 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Shreyas Iyer, who has done well for India in the middle-order in Test cricket, is injured and is most likely ruled out of the first Test.
With Shreyas Iyer unlikely to feature, there will be a toss-up between Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav. Dinesh Karthik feels that the Indian team should go ahead with Suryakumar Yadav. He reasoned that the Mumbai batter has been in good form, and is also a great player of spin, which is key in Indian conditions. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said,
“In case Shreyas Iyer is not fit, there is going to be a toss-up between Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill. I personally feel we should play Suryakumar because he is a great player of spin and we are going to play on some interesting wickets that are going to support spin. Give him the opportunity. He has been in red-hot form.”
Suryakumar Yadav has showcased his batting prowess for Team India in T20Is. However, he has yet to get an opportunity in Test cricket. The right-handed batter has scored 5549 runs in 79 first-class matches, at an average of 44.75. He has twenty-eight fifties and fourteen centuries to his name.
KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will be opening for India: Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik further expressed that Team India has plenty of options. He added that even a player who is in form might have to sit out, given the talent in the team. The wicket-keeper batter opined that KL Rahul is likely to be Rohit Sharma’s opening partner for the Test series. He stated that KL Rahul hasn’t had a great run in the format recently, but he has done well in England. Dinesh Karthik said,
“The beauty of Indian cricket right now is that somebody who’s in such red-hot form might not be a starter in a format. I feel that Gill is aware that KL Rahul has obviously had a long lineage and has been around for some time.”
“He has done well in tough conditions like those in England. He has not had the best of times in Test cricket in the recent past, but it will still be KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma opening,” he added.
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