Rahul Dravid allayed concerns around India's batting in the ongoing ODI series against Australia, and threw his weight behind Suryakumar Yadav, who has got two first-ball ducks so far as Shreyas Iyer's replacement at the crucial No.4 position. Dravid vouched for a show of patience for Suryakumar, a day after Rohit Sharma reiterated his captaincy philosophy of rewarding potential with long rope.
AUSTRALIA TOUR OF INDIA, 2023
Surya is learning the 50-over game: Dravid
Suryakumar has been dismissed for golden ducks in both the ODIs. © BCCI
"Obviously, it's unfortunate for Shreyas to get injured - he's one of those guys we think will bat for us at No.4 and he has been given a lot of time in that position. Not really concerned so much about Suryakumar. You have got two first-ballers against two pretty good balls," Dravid said of the two Starc deliveries - at 145 and 144 kmph - that came with Suryakumar's name on it in Mumbai and Vizag.
Heading into the ODI series against Australia last week, there was a glaring lopsidedness to the batting numbers of Suryakumar. In the 13 years since making his List A and T20 debuts, the Mumbai batter has played nearly double the number of games in the shortest format - 242 to 124, with 123 of them at high-octane in the IPL - a numbers disparity not lost on Dravid.
"One of the things about Surya is he is also learning the 50-over game a little bit. The T20 game is slightly different. Even though you hadn't played for India for a long time, in T20 cricket, he played nearly 10 years of IPL - a tournament which is like international cricket."
Suryakumar's
