Suryakumar Yadav "Lucky To Be In That Side": IPL-Winning Coach's Honest Take On India Star

Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody feels Suryakumar Yadav is "lucky" to have found a place in the Indian team for the upcoming Asia Cup. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's 17-member squad for the tournament on Monday, with the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Yashasvi Jaiswal narrowly missing out on selection. While analysing India's squad for the Asia Cup, Moody said that Suryakumar is yet to crack the code in One-Day Internationals, despite his riches in T20Is.

"The player that I think is lucky to be in that side is Suryakumar Yadav. I know that he's a player that we all love to watch, but he is yet to really master the 50-over game. I think he's played over 20 matches now and at a very modest return. He's a genius in T20 cricket. But the 50-over cricket is a completely different format, and he's yet to really crack the code for that. You know, I just don't think he's gonna do it at the last minute," Moody said on Star Sports.

The 57-year-old suggested that he would've taken someone younger, like Jaiswal, or an extra wrist spinner in place of Suryakumar.

"And to me, there are better options. Uh, available. Uh, I would have much rather seen a younger player like a Jaiswal in that side. Or take that position, and play a wrist spinner. Um, you know another wrist spinner," he added.

So far, Suryakumar Yadav has played in 26 ODI matches and scored a total of 511 runs in 24 innings, averaging 24.33.

Another major talking point from India's Asia Cup squads was the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who have been out of action due to their respective injuries.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Traveling stand-by player: Sanju Samson