Suryakumar Yadav may have made his debut for India about two years ago, but it wasn’t up until now that he faced the heat of international cricket. He had a flawless start to his T20I career, which convinced the team’s management to include him in the ODI set-up, but things haven’t panned out as expected. 

After playing 20 ODIs, Suryakumar still has nothing to show for, not even one substantial performance to convince that he belongs to this format. Given the deep reservoir of the talents India possesses, it’s hard for a player to get as many as 20 matches to prove his credentials. 

Too often, the fate of a player is decided on just a handful of matches. Admittedly, Suryakumar got a longer rope because of his impeccable consistency in the shortest format of the game, where has nailed down the No. 4 position. 

But after his last two innings in the ongoing ODI series against Australia, the scrutiny has intensified, and the final ODI in Chennai might be a make-or-break game for him. Suryakumar couldn’t open his account in both ODIs, getting undone by a searing in-swinger from Mitchell Starc. While it can be said that Suryakumar was unlucky to get nearly unplayable deliveries on both occasions, the fact remains that even in the rest of the ODIs, he hasn’t shown the temperament needed for an innings construction in ODI.

However, the skipper Rohit Sharma was optimistic about Suryakumar overturning his form in near future. “He has obviously shown a lot of potential with white-ball,” said Rohit. “Of course, we have seen and he also knows that he has to do well in longer formats of the game as well. Like I said, guys with potential will be given enough run (of matches) where they shouldn’t feel like ‘I was not given enough chances in that particular slot.’ With Surya, he needs that consistent run of games — like seven, eight-ten matches, so that he feels more comfortable.”

It was a perfect time for Suryakumar to cement his place, in the absence of the injured Shreyas Iyer, but that ship has sailed already. Even if he performs well in the final ODI, it’s unlikely he’ll retain his place when Iyer comes back into the team. 

Yadav’s struggles in the ODI have left the team management scratching their head, given they’re already missing Rishabh Pant, and the ODI World Cup is not very far away. What are the options India have? This is perhaps not the time to bring in the debutants. They might recall Sanju Samson, who had shown the ability to construct the innings, and can easily morph into a destructive batter if the situation demands. Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer also thinks that replacing him with Samson is a good choice.

“We have to see if the management sticks with him in the third ODI otherwise it’s not a bad option to give Sanju Samson a chance because he has played well when given the opportunity and he is a good player,” said Jaffer.