India Tour of Australia: ‘Suryakumar Yadav should’ve made cut in the national team,’ reckons Brian Lara

India Tour of Australia: ‘Suryakumar Yadav should’ve made cut in the national team,’ reckons Brian Lara

Brian Lara and Suryakumar Yadav

Brian Lara and Suryakumar Yadav
Brian Lara and Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav didn’t get picked for the upcoming tour of Australia despite a tremendous run at the recently-concluded IPL edition. He amassed 480 runs in 16 matches for Mumbai Indians while batting at number three. Moreover, Yadav has consistently performed in the domestic circuit as well during the List A and First-Class games. 

Soon after Suryakumar Yadav’s name went missing from the Australia tour, everyone slammed the Indian selectors on social media. Cricket fans and experts from all over also questioned the absence of the MI batsman from the Indian squad for the all-important overseas series. West Indian legendary cricketer Brian Lara also joined this conversation, calling Yadav a ‘class player’.

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“Yeah, definitely. He’s a class player. I don’t just look at players that score runs. I look at their technique, capabilities under pressure, positions that they’re batting. And for me, Suryakumar Yadav has done such a wonderful job for Mumbai,” Lara said while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

Suryakumar Yadav bats on the back of Rohit and de Kock: Lara

Suryakumar Yadav after the game against RCB

Brian Lara talked about the pressure-absorbing ability of Suryakumar Yadav while batting for Mumbai Indians. He said that the 30-year-old scored runs after MI Paltan lost crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. 

“He comes to bat on the back of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock and every time, they are under pressure, he comes in at number three. Just remember, your number batsman, other than the openers, the number three batsman in any cricket team is normally your best player, your most reliable player. And for me, he has been that for Mumbai Indians, and I see no reason why, looking at the squad, he can be a part of it,” he added.

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