"How Does Suryakumar Yadav Inclusion-Exclusion Make Sense": Ex-India Star Questions BCCI Selectors On WTC Final Squad

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned the Indian cricket team selectors for giving Suryakumar Yadav only one Test match and then dropping him from the squad. India on Tuesday announced the squad for World Test Championship final against Australia. While Ajinkya Rahane's comeback to the squad was the highlight, the exclusion of Suryakumar raised some eyebrows. Following his T20 exploits, Suryakumar was roped in into the Indian team for the four-match Test series against Australia that took place in February-March this year. However, the right-handed batter was given only one game in which he scored 8 runs off 20 balls in his only innings.

While Chopra expressed his happiness for the inclusion of Rahane for the WTC final, he was critical of the selectors' way of dealing with Suryakumar.

"Happy for Rahane. But how does the SKY inclusion-exclusion make sense?? Select kyon kiya…kar liya toh ek match ke baad drop kyon kiya?" questioned Chopra.

Happy for Rahane. But how does the SKY inclusion-exclusion make sense?? Select kyon kiya...kar liya toh ek match ke baad drop kyon kiya?

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 25, 2023

Of late, Suryakumar has failed to live up the expectations. He has scored 123 runs across 6 matches in IPL 2023, playing for Mumbai Indians. 

On the other hand, Rahane is the third highest-scorer in the ongoing IPL season with 209 runs to his name across 5 games. He averages 52.25 and has a strike rate of 199.05.

In the recently-concluded Ranji Trophy, Rahane scored 634 runs in 11 innings at an average of 57.63 for Mumbai. In those 11 innings, he struck two hundreds including a double hundred (204). His average in the campaign was even higher than his career First Class average of 47.12.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Aakash Chopra Suryakumar Yadav Ajinkya Rahane