3 reasons why Suryakumar Yadav should have been rested for IND vs AUS T20Is

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed Suryakumar Yadav as captain for the upcoming five-match home T20I series against Australia. The bilateral series will get underway in Visakhapatnam on November 23.

Players who were part of India's last T20I series against Ireland have been retained, barring Jasprit Bumrah. Sanju Samson has also not been named in the squad, with Ishan Kishan coming in for him.

All-rounder Axar Patel comes into the side after a long injury layoff. Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna, who was drafted into India's ODI World Cup squad after Hardik Pandya's injury, has also retained his place. Hardik has yet to recover fully and has not been considered.

VVS Laxman will don the head coach's hat for the series. Incumbent head coach Rahul Dravid's contract ended after the culmination of the World Cup and there is no confirmation on his future.

India's squad for Australia series: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar.

Meanwhile, there was a lot of buzz surrounding Suryakumar Yadav's selection for the upcoming series against the reigning ODI champions. On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why Suryakumar should have been rested.

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#1 Workload management

Suryakumar Yadav has been a constant feature in India's white-ball squads this year, having already played 21 ODIs and 11 T20Is. He has also represented the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 16 games in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL).

With a busy schedule to follow leading up to the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, the team management should have thought about resting Suryakumar from the Australia series.

It would have helped him recover well and come up rejuvenated for the next challenge.

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#2 Lack of form

Suryakumar Yadav has had a terrible outing in his debut ODI World Cup. The right-handed batter managed just 106 runs from seven matches at a paltry average of 17.66. He also struggled in the final against Australia on Sunday, managing just 18 runs off 28 balls.

He has come in for criticism from several sections, including former cricketer Anil Kumble. A break would have done a world of good to Suryakumar, with important series lined up leading to the T20 World Cup next year.

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#3 Opportunity to groom another finisher

The five-match T20I series between India and Australia has nothing significant to offer. Thus, it was a great opportunity for the management to groom a finisher, with important fixtures coming up in the next 12 months.

The Men in Blue have struggled due to a lack of backup options. The absence of a genuine all-rounder after Hardik Pandya was out injured hurt India big time in the recently concluded ODI World Cup.

Thus, it would have been a great opportunity for the think tank to try and develop another finisher in the upcoming five-match T20I series against the Aussies.