SKY's the limit in T20s but Suryakumar Yadav is not the solution in ODIs for Team India

India's road to the 2023 ODI World Cup starts with Rohit Sharma and Co. taking on West Indies in a three-match ODI series starting on July 27, 2023. Everybody remembers the heartbreak that India suffered at the hands of Kane Williamson's New Zealand in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-finals. Interestingly, everytime India participate in ICC events, they start as the firm favourites, but for the past few years, they have made it a habit of choking in the knockouts which leads to their elimination.

If things are to be looked at and analyzed properly, India's problems are still the same as in the 2019 ODI World Cup. The injuries to Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer have made matters even worse. It is not about recovery or getting match fit, but it is more about getting game time and adapting to the pressure situations before the marquee tournament starts. Over the past couple of years, SKY aka Suryakumar Yadav's meteoric rise has been the talk of the cricketing world. The ODI game has evolved drastically after the advent of T20I cricket and even a score of 400 is not safe with modern-day batsmen hitting the ball to all parts of the park

3 things you need to know:

• The 2023 ODI World Cup will be played in the Indian subcontinent
• Skipper Rohit Sharma will lead India for the first time in an ODI World Cup
• India lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup

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The never-ending Suryakumar Yadav conundrum

(Suryakumar Yadav celebrates his fifty during the IND vs SL 3rd T20I / Image: BCCI)

Team India has a lot on their plate to decipher before the ODI World Cup and the biggest problem they have on their hands is the number 4 spot. This was a massive factor that led to Team India's downfall in the 2019 ODI World Cup. In Shreyas Iyer's absence, the Indian team tried batting Suryakumar Yadav at number 4 during the IND vs AUS 2023 ODI series and the plan backfired miserably. Much to India and Suryakumar Yadav's woes, the Mumbai Indians batter kept on getting dismissed on the first delivery and couldn't get off the mark in the entire series. SKY undoubtedly is a prolific batsman in the T20I format and has led the country and his franchise to many memorable victories off his own bat. But when it comes to ODI cricket, SKY's trouble just doesn't seem to end and he has struggled in most of the opportunities that he has got.

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Shreyas Iyer vs Suryakumar Yadav: India's No. 4 for 2023 ODI World Cup

Cricket is a sport that heavily relies on stats and numbers play a huge role in determining a player's impact on the game for his team. If Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer's stats are to be compared side-by-side, Iyer looks far ahead and is the frontrunner for making it to India's starting XI in the World Cup. Just to give a short insight, subject to his fitness, Iyer is a three-format player for team India and certainly will be considered for probable selection. In 42 ODI matches for Team India, Shreyas Iyer has ended up scoring 1631 runs at an average of 46.6 and with a strike rate of 96.51. Suryakumar Yadav, on the other hand, has played lesser ODIs for India but his numbers haven't been that great either. In 23 ODI matches for India, the Mumbai Indians superstar has scored just 433 runs for Team India, at an average of 24.06.

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The bottomline..

Shreyas Iyer is more or less an anchor batsman who can keep the scoreboard ticking and then blast off when the situation demands and this is something that the ODI format needs irrespective of the match situation. This strategy is something that Suryakumar Yadav hasn't been able to showcase. There are no doubts about SKY's prowess and quality as a white-ball batsman, but considering the fact that a World Cup is on the line, India might just end up going ahead with Shreyas Iyer if he is completely fit and match-ready.