Shikhar Dhawan supports Suryakumar Yadav to get back in form soon

Veteran Indian batter Shikhar Dhawan has backed Team India's middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav to do well in the longer format, overcoming his rather forgettable series in red-ball cricket as well.

Suryakumar Yadav - in file image (Image Credits: Twitter/ICC)
By Shurti Banerjee | Mar 26, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Veteran Indian batter Shikhar Dhawan has backed Team India’s middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav to do well in the longer format, overcoming his rather forgettable series in red-ball cricket as well. The veteran has shared that the MUmbai batter is inexperienced at the Test level, but he can certainly learn from his failures and work on the loopholes.

However, following some good performances in T20 cricket, Suryakumar Yadav was handed a Test debut against Australia in Nagpur after Shreyas Iyer got injured and was eventually ruled out as well. The right-handed batter, however, didn’t look comfortable in the middle and in the only innings he played where he was bowled by Nathan Lyon for eight while trying for a drive on a turning surface.

While some experts did raise eyebrows with the move to hand Suryakumar Yadav a Test debut on the basis of his T20 performances, Shikhar Dhawan was not too critical as well. In an interview with Aaj Tak, he said:

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“Suryakumar Yadav has performed really well. He has consistently performed in the last couple of years. (He hasn’t done well) in a couple of series, which is very natural. If we talk about the Test match, the wickets are very different in a Test; that is the biggest challenge. When we played in India, there were turning tracks prepared because India had to win games. Things are not easy for batters, no matter how big he is.”

Dhawan explained: “Not only spinning surfaces, batting is not easy on green tracks prepared for fast bowlers. The challenges increase and that is where experience comes into play. When a youngster comes in, he doesn’t have that experience. He will fall three-four times, but he will learn from it and stand up again.”

However, Suryakumar Yadav had a horror ODI series against Australia at home recently as he got out for golden ducks in all three matches. On a personal front, Dhawan is not in the Indian ODI team. He was dropped after having a couple of poor series and Shubman Gill took his place and used the opportunities that came his way quite well.

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However, he also admitted that he received backing from the captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid, but his form let him down. Meanwhile, Dhawan registered four single-figure scores in his last five ODI innings, which saw him sitting out of the squad as well. The 37-year-old again shared:

“When Rohit took over the captaincy he along with Rahul Dravid backed me enough. They told me they wanted me to focus on my cricket and that my vision should be the next World Cup. 2022 was very good for me as I was consistent in ODIs. But there is this young guy who has been doing well in two formats. When my form dipped in a couple of series, they gave a chance to Shubman. He has lived up to their expectations.“We are used to such situations. When Ishan Kishan slammed a double century against Bangladesh, that time as well, I thought I could be out of the team.”





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