Suryakumar Yadav opens up on his ODI form: 'I find it the most challenging format, my numbers bad'

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Talking about his poor run in ODI cricket Suryakumar Yadav has said that he was aware of his "poor numbers" in the format, adding that it's the toughest format for him to bat.

The comments from the 32-year-old came after his Man of the Match-winning innings of 83 runs off 44 balls in the third T20I against West Indies. The knock helped India keep the 5-match series alive by winning the match by seven wickets and 13 balls remaining.

The number one ranked T20I batter in the world confessed his poor run on the ODI formats despite being given repeated opportunities. The Mumbai batter said he was trying to repay the trust shown by captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid.

“Agar mai honest hoon toh, mujhe pata hai mere one-day ke numbers bilkul kharab hain aur isme koi sharam nahi hai bolne mai, subko pata he hai (To be honest, my one-day numbers are absolutely bad and there’s no shame in admitting that, everybody is aware" Suryakumar, who has 511 runs at an average of 24.33 in 26 ODIs, said on Tuesday.

“We all talk about honesty and you have to be, but how you can improve is more important. Rohit (Sharma) and Rahul (Dravid) sir have told me that this is the format that I don’t play much so you have to play it more and think about it. If you are batting in the last 10-15 overs, think what you can do for the team. All we want you from his play 45-50 ball if you are getting to bat in the 15-18 overs, play your own game. It’s in my hand now how to change the responsibility into an opportunity," he added.

Suryakumar explained that he is used to playing T20 cricket and that he was working on ways to adjust his game according to the match situations.

“We have been playing the T20 format so much that I have gotten used to it. One-day is a format that I don’t play much and I find it as the most challenging format. You have to bat differently - if a wicket falls early, you have to bat a little like in Test cricket, then in between you try to accelerate ball by ball and towards the end, you have to bring in the T20 approach. So I have been trying to apply what the team management has told me so far about the format. I try to take some time in ODI as per the time and then play my game towards the end. I will try to repay the faith," he said.

The middle-order batter also expressed confidence that India would manage to prepare themselves for the World Cup 2023 with their outing in the Asia Cup 2023 and the following 3-match bilateral series against Australia. With lack of clarity over the fitness status of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, India are running against time to fix their middle-order conundrum. Suryakumar Yadav's struggle in ODI has increased the headache of management.

“We have 7-8 games before the ODI World Cup. It’s enough for a team to prepare. We also have a camp before that where all the players will gather. It’s important to spend time together, understand strengths and weaknesses. We will try to win hopefully," he said.