Suryakumar should have been picked because he is more dynamic than Iyer and Pandey, claims Brad Hogg
Suryakumar Yadav was overlooked by the Indian selectors, yet again
|@ IPL T20
Brad Hogg expressed disappointment over the national omission of Suryakumar Yadav and stated that the selectors should have picked the MI star due to him being more dynamic than incumbents Iyer and Pandey. Hogg further picked Shaw as the âplayer to watch out forâ in the Australia Tests.
Five days ago, the BCCIâs new national selection committee headed by Sunil Joshi left more than half the Indian population fuming by choosing to leave Suryakumar Yadav out of the T20I side. Batting at No.3 for Mumbai Indians, Yadav has been a revelation in IPL 2020, yet he was overlooked to accommodate Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey, both of whom have had mediocre seasons thus far. Almost to add insult to injury, the 30-year-old played one of the knocks of the season one day after being overlooked and ever since, the BCCI have come under severe fire for omitting someone who looked certain to book a seat in the plane.Â
Renowned expert Brad Hogg weighed in on the controversy and opined that he, personally, would have loved to see âSKYâ in the plane to Australia. Hogg claimed that to go along with his consistency, Yadav, unlike any of his competitors, has a dynamism about his batting and added that it is an invaluable attribute that generally goes a long way in putting the bowlers off.Â
âThe selectors must be looking close at this young man because he has blitzed the IPL this year and heâs had a good season the year before so heâs been quite consistent. Now if he is going to play for India, he is going to play three or four. So he is competing against Kohli, Rahul, Iyer and Pandey. But the point of difference this man has, compared to the other four players, is that he is inventive,â Hogg said in his YouTube channel.
âHe creates strokes, he is able to hit boundaries all around the park. 360 degrees. He is willing to take those risks and put the bowlers off their lines and lengths. What that does is eases the pressure on the batsman at the other end, because the Australian bowlers will have to hit a different line and length to Suryakumar Yadav. So he is someone India should have picked. So Indian selectors, why didnât you pick him? He is one of my favourites.â
Suryakumarâs omission aside, fans and experts alike have also been left bewildered by the inclusion of KL Rahul in the red-ball side. Rahul, who has averaged 22 in 15 Tests since the start of 2018, was handed a surprise recall by the selectors but according to Hogg, it would be silly for team India to open with the 28-year-old. Hogg backed his claim up by pulling out Rahulâs recent numbers in Tests and asserted that he would want one of Prithvi Shaw or Shubman Gill to partner Mayank Agarwal up top.
âI donât think Rahul will be ready to open the Tests in Australia. If you look at his last 12 innings, 8 of those innings were 13 or less and in 7 of those innings, he didnât even get to double figures. I think theyâve got to have Agarwal with either Gill or Shaw in the opening position.â
India created history two years ago by clinching the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australian soil, but one person who was unlucky to not have been a part of the triumph was young Prithvi Shaw. The youngster, in a warm-up game prior to the first Test, twisted his ankle, due to which he had to miss out on the entirety of the tour. Having now been named as a part of the red-ball side that will tour Australia next month, Hogg has singled out the 20-year-old as his âbatsman to watch out forâ.
âThe player Iâm looking forward to seeing this year is Prithvi Shaw. Heâs missed opportunities in Australia previously because of injuries and other issues, but I think he is someone who can take on the Australian pacers, both off the front foot and the back-foot. I want to see how Pant goes as well; how he backs up the truck from his last performance in Australia because he did quite well with mouth and bat.â
