Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has suggested that India should have Suryakumar Yadav come in to bat at No.3 during their do-or-die clash against Zimbabwe in Chennai. India have their backs against the wall following the loss to South Africa in their opening Super 8 clash in Ahmedabad. Their semi-final chances took another hit when West Indies thrashed Zimbabwe on Monday, February 23.
This means that the Zimbabwe game is one where the defending champions cannot afford a slip-up with the batting issues being exposed so far in the tournament. Abhishek Sharma’s form has been under the scanner, while Tilak Varma has struggled to make an impact at No.3. Tilak has 107 runs from five matches with a strike-rate of 118.88.
India’s top three are all left-handers at the moment and shake-up has been suggested. Pathan, however, feels the issue can be sorted with Suryakumar being put in at No.3 and Tilak coming in after him.
“Maybe Surya should bat at number 3. To actually take away those three left-handers coming one after the other and just change that monotony,” said Pathan to the broadcasters.
Suryakumar has batted at No.3 for India in T20Is, scoring 864 runs in 32 matches with an average of 32 and a strike-rate of 158.53. He has scored a hundred and six fifties during this time.
BRING AXAR IN, A CHANCE FOR KULDEEP?
Pathan said that India should bring back Axar Patel into the team given his ability with bat and ball, which went missing during the loss against the Proteas. While the former all-rounder suggested that there will be a temptation to try out Kuldeep Yadav and bring back Sanju Samson into the team, he doesn’t want too many changes from the hosts during the Zimbabwe tie.
“Axar Patel should get in. He is a guy who can actually bowl against left-hand batters as well. So let me make it very clear that he’s very good. He’s very experienced. We can use him as a floater in batting as well. So that’s the first thing first.”
“The Indian team might be thinking if they can get Kuldeep Yadav in because they must have seen the attack they got in as far as the West Indian team is concerned as well. So they might be thinking against Zimbabwe, should they get Kuldeep in and give him a go before the big game against West Indies as well.”
“Apart from that, yes, they are left-handers. Yes, they’ll be thinking about Sanju Samson as well, but I don’t want the Indian team to think and tinker too much. I would think they should make only one change as far as the playing 11 is concerned. Axar should get in,” said Pathan.
India will be taking on Zimbabwe on Thursday, February 26 in Chennai.
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