Suryakumar Yadav, India’s captain, has explained his decision to bat at No. 11 during the 2025 Asia Cup clash against Oman. The decision came as part of a strategy to give his fellow teammates, who hadn’t had many opportunities to bat, a chance to showcase their skills.
With a spot in the Super Four already secured before the match began, India opted to bat first, posting a total of 188/8. Suryakumar was padded up in case the ninth wicket fell, but that opportunity never arose.
Giving Key Batters Game Time
In the post-match press conference, Suryakumar clarified his reasoning:
“From our batting point of view, our batters didn’t get a lot of game time, starting from Sanju, Hardik, a lot of them, Axar (Patel), even (Shivam) Dube. Tilak (Varma) also against Pakistan didn’t get a lot of time to bat.”
The move to bat at No. 11 allowed other key players, such as Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya, to get more time at the crease, especially after they hadn’t been able to fully contribute in previous matches.
Tailenders Bat Ahead of the Captain
Suryakumar also sent tailenders like Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh ahead of him in the batting order. He explained that Harshit, known for his batting, was given the chance to face the final overs, and when Arshdeep asked to bat, he had no issues with it.
“Harshit, as you may know, he’s someone who can bat. So we wanted to see how he can bat in the last 3 or 4 overs, and when 1 or 2 overs were left, Arshdeep said that he wanted to go into bat. I said no problem, you can definitely go in. It’s completely fine, but I bat or I don’t bat, winning the game is more important,” he said.
Questions Raised Over the Decision
While Suryakumar’s move was strategic, it sparked some questions. Former cricketer Rohan Gavaskar raised concerns over why Suryakumar didn’t give Rinku Singh, who was on the bench, a chance to bat if he wasn’t planning on batting himself.
Additionally, Hindi commentator Vivek Razdan criticized the move, calling it “disrespectful” to the sport.
“This game shouldn’t be taken lightly. It should be given as much respect as possible. You have so many more matches to play, and your captain is still waiting to bat at number 11,” Razdan commented before the end of the first innings.
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