India’s hunt for an ICC trophy continues with yet another World Cup exit. The 2011 World Cup champions have now gone nine years without winning an ICC championship. MS Dhoni has retired, and a lot of changes have taken place in Indian cricket since 2013.
The legendary skipper handed over captaincy before his retirement, Virat Kohli has emerged as one of the modern-day greats, while Rohit Sharma has taken over as captain. Rahul Dravid has been promoted to the position of head coach. However, despite the passage of time, India’s wait for another World Cup victory continues.
Future prospects are promising as India ushers in a new age, particularly in T20 cricket, where a younger group of players spearheaded by Hardik Pandya are grabbing the reins.
The Indian team is coming together well with Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, and others. The Men in Blue, however, will also benefit from the expertise of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, and skipper Hardik, creating a fantastic balance of youngsters and veterans in the team.
Despite having so many talented players at their disposal, Australian fast bowling legend Brett Lee has identified Suryakumar Yadav as the one player who could lead them to World Cup glory in the near future.
Yadav has been in scintillating form, particularly in the shortest format. The Mumbai Indians batter has scored a whopping 1146 runs in T20Is in 2022, and is miles above the rest of the crowd. It is the pace at which he scores these runs which is so staggering. His strike rate in 2022, where he scored nine half-centuries and two hundred, was a monstrous 183. The right-hander from Mumbai has shown just what he is capable of and Lee feels that he will be the one to take his country to glory.
“India did not win the T20 World Cup by the SKY rose. Of course, I am talking about Suryakumar Yadav. He is the new global T20 superstar. What a sensational 12-15 months he has had on the big stage.
He has shown here on Australian grassy wickets where the ball skids through. His fearlessness, his shot selection is like a chess grandmaster. His execution is awe-inspiring and the smile on his face when he played it, it is priceless,”
Lee said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
“SKY was one of the highlights for me at the T20 World Cup. He continues to bat with the same attitude. Not only will he score big runs but he will also someday win a World Cup for Team India.
I love watching him play. My advice to SKY would be… no advice. Keep doing what you are doing, don’t change, don’t complicate things, back yourself.”
However, there has been a fair bit of discussion as to the feasibility of including Yadav in the One-Day side. Although Yadav has done fairly well in ODIs, the recent performances of the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson, coupled with Rahul’s success in the number five role in ODIs could prove to be a barrier to Yadav’s inclusion. Although Yadav is expected to make the Indian ODI squad, he might not be able to bat in a position best suited to him under such a situation.
Lee, nevertheless, seems to have complete faith in Suryakumar’s abilities, as he admired the Mumbai man’s approach to the game.
“I like the way he executes the impossible shots because his basics are in place. He doesn’t go out there and just try to hit ball that aren’t there to hit. He has a wonderful technique and he is definitely a player for the future.
You can trust Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma to just let him be the person he needs to be. The SKY would rise and this could lead to many more peaks for India in years to come,”
the veteran concluded.
