'I'll be watching him closely' - Ravi Shastri urges Team India to recognise the X-Factor in middle-order

With a couple of days to go for the much-awaited ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that Suryakumar Yadav could be key for the Rohit Sharma-led side. India will kickstart their campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.

Shastri reckoned that he will be keeping an eye on Suryakumar, who he believes is the X-factor as he can win games for India at the ICC global event.

"I'll be watching him closely, very very closely. Because if your top order is firing, so you have 6-7-8 players, you will play him or Shreyas Iyer at this moment. But if all the batters are getting runs then that guy becomes the X factor in a big game, he can win you a game. Because at 6-7-8, the damage he can do with Hardik, they can just take the game away from the opposition in the last 6-7 overs. So that X factor you gotta think of, I can imagine that your batting is struggling but it's not the case," Shastri told ESPNCricinfo.

Shastri went on to say that he feels Suryakumar will play a big role in India's middle order. The 33-year-old batter got a place in the playing XI for Asia Cup 2023 after Shreyas Iyer was sidelined due to his back issues. Iyer later made a comeback in the ODI series against Australia at home, smashing a series-winning century in the second match. He amassed 156 runs in the Australia ODIs at an average of 52.00 whereas Suryakumar hit a total of 130 runs in three games.
 
"And in Indian conditions, very rarely it will struggle. You know you expect 1-2-3-4 - one hundred. He will always be in my 12. You have to see the conditions. A real flat track - I would think of Surya. Because you expect the other 3-4 to get runs. If it's (conditions are) tough, tricky, or seaming then maybe you don't know. You have 5 proper batters, all five similar, instead of that have one X-factor - could be a left-hander could be a Surya," the 61-year-old added.