Kamran Akmal surprised by Suryakumar Yadav's selection for West Indies ODIs, explains why India back him

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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has expressed surprise at middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav's inclusion in the upcoming ODI series against West Indies. Suryakumar has played 23 ODI matches till date and scored 433 runs at an average of 24.05.

The right-hander has got out for a duck in each of his last three ODI innings. In his last 11 innings, the Mumbai batter has been dismissed for a single-digit score on eight occasions.

Akmal has gone on to explain that the decision by the management could have been taken keeping in view the upcoming 50-over World Cup scheduled to be held in India in October-November, and a few injury-prone key players including Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.

“Suryakumar Yadav's selection in India's ODI squad was quite surprising. He has had a lot of opportunities. He is getting so many chances because India want to ensure that if some of their injured players don't get fit before the World Cup, they still have someone who has scored big runs in T20s,” Akmal said.

Further, Akmal has backed Uttar Pradesh (UP) cricketer Rinku Singh to make a place in the India's T20I squad against West Indies. While the Test and ODI squads have been announced, the selectors are yet to announce the team for the 5-match T20I series which will begin from August 3.

“Rinku Singh played many match-winning knocks for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in this IPL. I believe that he should surely be a part of India's T20I squad. He deserves to be a part of the national team,” Akmal added.