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I was a bit surprised with that move - Sridhar on Suryakumar Yadav's punt


Former Team India fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar has admitted that he was taken aback by the Rahul Dravid-led management's decision to open with Suryakumar Yadav in the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies.

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With regular opener KL Rahul unavailable due to injury and COVID-19, the Indians have experimented with their opening combination in the past few games.

Speaking to cricket.com, Sridhar revealed that once he saw SKY walking out to bat as an opener, he immediately checked whether Pant was playing or not.

"When I saw Suryakumar walking out to bat with Rohit, I was a bit surprised with that move. Immediately, I checked to see if Rishabh Pant was playing the game. And he was. So, obviously, there is something going on there which we don't know yet," he said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Sridhar reckoned that something might be brewing in the Indian camp as the management is known for not making too many changes.

"There is something happening inside the Indian change room, which we are not aware about. Otherwise, I don't see this management chopping and changing batting order that easy," the former India coach added.

Surya missed out in the first two games but turned up the heat big time in the 3rd T20I as he painted Warner Park with glorious strokeplay to stroll his way to a match-winning 44-ball 76.


Pretty sure this could be a stop-gap arrangement - Sridhar

When asked about the possible reasons behind such a left-field move, Sridhar said:

"Maybe Rishabh didn't want to open. Maybe India are looking at another opening option. Obviously, KL Rahul was supposed to go for this series but he couldn't, owing to Covid and then travelling and getting used to the condition.

However, the former fielding coach believes that this could well be just a stop-gap arrangement.

"I am pretty sure this could be a stop-gap arrangement but like I said, there is probably something we don’t know," said Sridhar.

Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Rahul is likely to return to the side for the Asia Cup. It will be interesting to see if opening with Surya is indeed a "stop-gap" arrangement or a permanent fixture.