Can T20's Six-Hitters Find Their One-Day Gear At The World Cup?

Back in the 90's, it was pinch-hitters the Now, a new crop of T20 game changers are picked in ODIS for a high-risk game

- Rasesh Mandani

Suryakumar Yadav has been present in the Indian team's dugout during the Asia Cup. He has often been seen having a conversation with Rohit Sharma, cracking a joke, rushing onto the field when the team needs him. In the match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, he took two catches as well. But while these contributions are appreciated, at the start of 2023, the team would have been expecting him to stamp his presence in a different role by now.

With India having qualified for the Asia Cup final, the final Super4 game against Bangladesh could be an opportunity for India to give Suryakumar another run in the middle. An opportunity most would want to give him on the basis of what he so often does in T20 cricket but at the same time, an opportunity that may be denied to him simply because of what he hasn't been able to do in ODIs.

The crux of the issue is whether ODIs are an extension of T20 cricket or a curtailed version of Test cricket? It’s a question that has no clear answer. Not for India. Not for Suryakumar either.

India’s first two Super4 matches in the ongoing Asia Cup served a fresh reminder as to why there's no one approach that fits ODIs. India batted with T20 levels of abandon in their match against Pakistan on September 10-11 to post 356/2, while they stuttered to 213 against Sri Lanka’s spin, the next day. Suryakumar has, in the past, spoken about the confusion but if he can get going, he is a game-changer. It is a big 'if' and a tantalising one at the same time.