“Flexible to bat at any position”, says Suryakumar Yadav before the 2nd ODI against West Indies

As KL Rahul, the vice-captain of the Indian white ball cricket is making his return in the 2nd One Day International against West Indies, Captain Rohit Sharma and company will be having a slight headache to fix his position. It was previously decided that Rahul will be opening with Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan will be dropped and Rituraj Gaikwad will be the backup opener but with Shikhar’s form in South Africa, the team management needs to give a second thought. At the moment, it is simple for the team to drop Ishan Kishan and let Rahul play as an opener but that is again not a long-term solution as Shikhar may make his return to the squad as early as the third ODI.

Now, KL was previously used in the 3rd down position where Suryakumar Yadav plays these days. If KL is given that role, then Yadav will be dropped to six or he may even lose his position if the team decides to play an all-rounder. With Hardik Pandya’s return, that might just be the case. Yadav is however not afraid to take the challenge. In the pre match press conference, the flamboyant batsman said that he is ready to play at any position that the team wants. “I am really flexible, wherever the team management wants me to bat, I am really flexible to bat at any position. Yes, I have batted at No. 3, 4 and 5, really happy with the things that are going on right now”.

Speaking about KL Rahul’s return and Mayank Agarwal, Suryakumar said, “They were seen in training. They coming back makes our unit stronger. At the end of the day, it is the call of the team management on who is going to play and who isn’t”.

India’s batting template in the White ball cricket has been in question for quite some time now. Some fans even call it outdated. Speaking about their template, Suryakumar said, “I think we have kept things really simple. We are going to bat the same way we did in the first ODI. When we bat first, we have to go all the way and post a defendable score. The way we batted in the last game was perfect, the tempo and intensity were nice. There is nothing to change”.