Legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara has urged India to promote Suryakumar Yadav to the crucial number three position in their batting lineup for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Lara believes that Suryakumar’s exceptional skills and abilities make him the ideal candidate to occupy this pivotal spot in the team’s batting order.
Lara, who is currently providing commentary for the Indian Premier League (IPL), emphasized the importance of getting Suryakumar to the crease as early as possible. He believes that the swashbuckling batsman can put India in an unassailable position if he bats first or win the game if he bats second.
“My one advice, and I don’t know if you’re going to like it or not, but Sky has to bat at three. He just has to bat at three. He is one of the greatest T20 players in the game,” Lara said. “And you speak to players like Sir Viv, and he will tell you he used to want to get out there in the middle.”
Lara’s suggestion would require a reshuffling of India’s top order, with Suryakumar moving up to number three and Virat Kohli potentially opening the innings alongside Rohit Sharma. This would leave Yashasvi Jaiswal on the bench.
Lara also expressed his hope for an India-West Indies final at the T20 World Cup, which would make up for the disappointment of India’s early exit from the 2007 ODI World Cup in the Caribbean.
“India and West Indies final is going to make up for so much wrong that has happened in the past. India missing out in 2007 in the second round, that killed us in the Caribbean. We don’t want that to happen again,” Lara said.
Regarding India’s spin bowling options, Lara believes that only a couple of the four spinners selected in the squad, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, are likely to play in the starting eleven. He praised Chahal’s intelligence and ability to out-think batters, as well as Kuldeep’s wicket-taking prowess.
Despite the ongoing debate surrounding Kohli’s strike rate, Lara believes that players like him are essential to the team’s success. “You have to have a player like Virat in the playing eleven,” Lara added.
