‘Either players raise the bar or Suryakumar is there to…’: Nehra's warning after SKY named T20I Player of the Year 2022
Former India cricketer and one of the best minds in the game, Ashish Nehra has weighed in on Suryakumar's chances of becoming a regular in India's playing XI in ODIs.
Suryakumar Yadav's rise in T20 cricket can be summed up with his initials as SKY-high. The 32-year-old is currently the No.1 T20 batter in the world with 908 rating points, just seven less than Dawid Malan's all-time highest rating of 915. On Wednesday, Suryakumar was adjudged the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year 2022. He got awarded for his exploits in the shortest format, having smashed 1164 runs in 31 matches at an incredible average of 46.56. Lest we forget, the right-handed batter marked his international debut for India in March, 2021 i.e, less than two years ago.
Having achieved such high stature in less than two years time, Suryakumar has certainly created a niche for himself in T20 cricket. But the flamboyant batter is yet to woo the cricket fraternity with similar panache and achievements in the 50-over format. Suryakumar who is yet to debut in Test cricket, has looked a pale shadow of himself in ODIs. In the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand, he could only manage 45 runs at a paltry average of 22.50. His below par performances have triggered a few critics to label him a T20 specialist only.
Former India cricketer and one of the best minds in the game, Ashish Nehra has weighed in on Suryakumar's chances of becoming a regular in India's playing XI in ODIs. In an interaction with ICC, Nehra backed Suryakumar to shine brightly in the 50-over format as well.
"Let's hope that he shows this form across formats because he certainly has the capability. He has played a few one-day games, but if he continues to perform at the level he is, it will naturally form a place for him in the XI. So if players are pushed to their limit with such performances, either they have to raise the bar or Suryakumar is always there to take their place," said Nehra.
Former India bowler Nehra also talked about the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year 2022 award to Suryakumar and shared that he wasn't surprised by the development given Suryakumar's mind-boggling numbers in the shortest format.
"It is not surprising at all. This is such a Surya (Sun) that has shone consistently if you talk about the past year or two. Hopefully, he can carry this on because the kind of consistency that he has shown at such a high strike rate has been sensational. His confidence is at an all-time high and this is a fantastic achievement for any player because of how competitive T20 cricket is and yet Suryakumar has left behind so many big hitters in the game, " said Nehra.
