I think Suryakumar Yadav should play in all three formats for India: Suresh Raina

Indian batting sensation Suryakumar Yadav enjoyed a phenomenal 2022 in the shortest format of the game, registering three centuries in the space of six months, which garnered him the ICC's T20I Cricketer of the Year award. While his impact in T20Is remains unparalleled, former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina believes him to be an integral part of India's squad in all three formats of the game.

Suryakumar Yadav has been one of the most watchable batters in the world ever since making his T20I debut in 2021. The batter has registered 1578 runs from 43 T20I innings, with 1164 runs coming in 2022, the most by any batter in 2022. While his jaw-dropping innovative batting style makes him an invaluable asset to the team in the shortest format, Suresh Raina believes that an Indian team without Suryakumar is not possible.

"The way he is performing, I think he should play in all three formats and without him, all three formats should not even exist. The way he performed, the way he shows intent, the way he plans different shots, he also plays fearlessly and knows how to use the dimension of the ground,” noted Raina during an interaction with Aakash Chopra on Viacom18 Sports.

He is a Mumbai player, and he knows how to play red-ball cricket: Raina

The 32-year-old batting ace from Mumbai climbed up to the top of the ICC rankings for batters in T20Is but has failed to replicate the same form in the longer formats of the game. He did not have the desired effect for India in the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand. 

But he has a chance to showcase his talents in the traditional format of the game after he was handed a maiden Test call-up for India's opening two matches of the much-anticipated Test series against Australia, commencing in February.

“He is a Mumbai player, and he knows how to play red-ball cricket. I think he has a great chance – playing Test cricket will get him another establishment in ODIs and some stability as well. He will score multiple 100s and then 200s,” he added.

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