Mohali, (UNI) India Head Coach Rahul Dravid on Thursday said the team for the World Cup has been picked and Suryakumar Yadav is in it.
“I don’t think he needs to worry about the 27th. We have picked our team for the World Cup and Surya is in it,” he said on the eve of the first ODI against Australia.
The team, Dravid said, completely backs him because he has certain quality and ability, and has the potential to change the course of a game.
Suryakumar is the No.1 T20I batsman on the ICC rankings, but has not delivered in the ODI format, getting only two fifties in 25 games with an average of 24.40.
He also indicated the inclusion of Suryakumar for the first ODI against Australia tomorrow, with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya rested for the first two matches.
“These three games, he is someone who will get all three games, or at least the first couple certainly to be able to again develop and keep growing in his journey as a one-day cricketer, but in terms of selection, no, we have made our decision,” he said.
Pinning faith on Ravichandran Ashwin’s abilities, Dravid said though he has not played a lot of ODI since January 2022, he has the ability to deal with it, having rich experience with him.
“Having someone of Ashwin’s experience to come back is always good for us. He has got the ability to be able to contribute with the bat at No. 8. He is someone who we have always thought of where in case there were certain injuries or opportunities opened up, he was always part of our plans,” he said.
