Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra feels Suryakumar Yadav acknowledging that he has a poor ODI record is the first step towards improvement in the format as well. Suryakumar smashed a 44-ball 83 in the third T20I between India and the West Indies in Guyana on Tuesday (August 8) and he won the Player of the Match award as well. At the post-match press conference, he also accepted that he has an indifferent record in ODIs and that he needs to improve also.
While talking about this in a video shared on his YouTube, Chopra said: “Surya Bhau has candidly, honestly and openly accepted that his ODI record is really bad, it is nothing to be ashamed of, there is nothing to hide as well, and he already knows what you (reporters) are saying. Acceptance is the first step towards improvement. He also said that Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have told him that he has to understand the format a little more. He is not the only one and he is not the first player as well who is taking a little time to shift from one format to the other.”
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Aakash Chopra also cited the example of Rohit Sharma’s struggles in the longer format when he was playing in the middle order. He added that since he started opening, he has been doing well, but also added that such a change takes time. And, Aakash Chopra feels Suryakumar Yadav needs to understand the pulse of ODI cricket as well.
He shared: “Where does the problem arise? Every format has its pulse. You need to understand that pulse, the rhythm at which it flows. Whenever Suryakumar Yadav plays T20 cricket, his wagon runs at the speed of a bullet train. He constantly keeps on putting pressure, every ball is like an event and there is no place for a dot ball.”
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He also believes the Mumbai batter’s ultra-aggressive approach is not likely to work in the 50-over format.
“When he plays ODI cricket, he is unable to understand its pulse, because it doesn’t work out if you try to hit every ball. The bowlers are also adamant. They keep bowling at one spot because it is ODI cricket and they have time, that why should they do anything different if you have hit a four? If you hit a four in T20s, the bowler becomes defensive on the next ball. However, in ODIs he says you can continue hitting as he has fielders in the deep and he has a 10-over spell and it doesn’t matter to him if you hit him for two fours. You consistently and patiently bowl at one spot,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
