Suryakumar Yadav with Jitesh Sharma and Rinku Singh (Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X.com)
It turned out to be a convincing victory for the Men in Blue against the Oman side in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, despite a spirited show from the Middle Eastern nation. India, after batting first, put up 188 runs on the board, where skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not come out to bat, and India had 10 of their batters take the crease.
What's The Case With SKY?
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav denied coming out to bat against Oman in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 Group A match, which happened at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
India lost eight of their wickets with 10 of their batters arriving at the crease, as the skipper made up his mind not to come out to bat until India lost their ninth wicket, which didn't happen. And a move that raised eyebrows, as SKY wanted his side to get proper chances at the crease ahead of the crucial Super Four stage, where matches are going to be more intense.
However, the question now remains, or even gets in the frame, as if he didn't want to come out to bat, could India have tried someone else in his place, or could Surya have been rested for this game altogether? Why waste a chance that someone else could have had.
Why Jitesh Sharma Deserved A Place In The XI?
Ahead of this match, India made two changes to their lineup, with Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy rested, while the pace duo of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana were given a go-ahead in this game. However, despite that, two players remained benched for the entire group stage, namely Jitesh Sharma and the left-handed big hitter Rinku Singh, as both of them are prime finishers.
Before the Asia Cup, there were certain strong rumours that Jitesh Sharma would probably be the first choice wicket keeper ahead of Sanju Samson, which obviously didn't turn out to be the case, as India went ahead with the latter, who played a fine 56-run knock off 45 deliveries against Oman after coming in at three.
Unfortunately for Jitesh, he didn't get to feature in any of the games so far, as India chose the opposite route and went ahead with Samson. Now, with Jitesh not having gotten any chances while he was being referred to as the first choice keeper for the Asia Cup, has raised a few questions.
If Surya didn't want to bat, why wasn't Jitesh considered in the side, despite the fact that he is a proper middle-order wicket-keeping batter who could smash some gutsy runs at the back end of the innings?
With Oman in front of India, Jitesh would probably have been in the side, even if not for Surya , then some other batter like Tilak Varma, who has had his chances in the tournament. And also when, Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav were swinging their bats at the fag end of the innings.
Interestingly, Sanju, who was being primed for the number six spot in this side, turned out at the number three position, which is more like him, as he is generally an opener in the T20I format. All because of an early wicket in the innings that allowed Samson to walk onto the crease by the middle of the second over. It is also unfair that Jitesh wasn't given a proper chance to have his competition with Sanju Samson fair and square.
Now that this game is done and dusted, we can only assume that India will stick to their playing XI, barring those two changes that they made ahead of the game, and Sanju Samson will retain his spot at least for the upcoming game without losing his place on the side where he succeeded.
Why India Should Have Given Rinku Singh A Chance?
Now, when Jitesh wasn't considered, there was another guy sitting on the sidelines without getting much recognition, and the name is Rinku Singh. Rinku at his prime is the absolute best and is probably one of the finest batters, especially one of the best death over specialist in the world, with his range hitting and power hitting skills.
Despite the fact that he was India's first choice batter in the past, Rinku isn't even in recognition as of now to get a chance in the eleven. The point that he could have been considered for this game as well, in place of SKY or any other batter, is a matter that will remain in contention, considering India were playing a relatively weaker opponent in this encounter.
Since Tilak batted so low, Surya, in fact, did not even bother to come out; there was a proper chance for India to give both these batters, who have barely been getting any chances recently.
As for Rinku, his numbers have been excellent, playing for Meerut Mavericks in the UP T20 league 2025, where he thumped up 372 runs in nine innings at an impressive average of 62 while batting at a strike rate of 178.85, banging a century and two half-centuries in the tournament.
As for the Indian side, the numbers really don't matter, but what matters is the impact that a player can create in the side. Going ahead, India would unlikely make any significant changes to their side, except for if Axar Patel fails to recover in time for the upcoming clash against Pakistan on September 21st, 2025, when India face their arch-rivals in the super four stage in Dubai.
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