'If Suryakumar Yadav is fit, he should come into the Indian playing XI' - Ajit Agarkar ahead of IND vs AFG clash

Suryakumar Yadav missed India’s T20 World Cup encounter against the New Zealand side with a back injury. And now, former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar feels that the right-handed batter should find a place in the playing XI if he is fit to play against Afghanistan.

Agarkar also said that Rohit Sharma should open the batting for India. Even though Agarkar admitted that Hardik Pandya’s form is a concern, the 43-year-old also added that India have backed Pandya for a couple of matches and there is no need to change the team combination too much.

Agarkar also said that if Pandya bowls, it would help the Virat Kohli-led side and opined that the Indian batsmen need to bat better.

“Suryakumar Yadav if he is fit, comes in for me Rohit goes to open the innings. Pandya’s form is certainly a concern, but if you’ve backed him for 2 games, then you don’t want to tinker too much. He also bowled a couple of overs in the last game, so that helps. India would just look to bat better. Change in venue, I don’t know about that but a change of mindset definitely would,” said Agarkar while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.

Very few batsmen have successfully managed to attack Rashid Khan: Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar also said that the Indian batsmen need not take any unnecessary risks against Rashid Khan, as very few batsmen have successfully attacked the Afghanistan spinner.

“You have to look at the situation. Very few batsmen successfully manage to attack Rashid Khan. If you are getting enough runs against the rest of the bowling attack, no need to take unnecessary risks against Rashid,” concluded Ajit Agarkar.

India are yet to post a win in the Super 12 stages of the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli and his men are placed at 5th place in the points table in Group 2. On the other hand, Afghanistan are placed at 2nd place, after winning 2 out of their 3 games.