"The red-hot form that Suryakumar Yadav is in, I prefer him over KL Rahul for the 1st ODI" - Wasim Jaffer 

Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer has picked Suryakumar Yadav over KL Rahul for the upcoming first ODI against Sri Lanka. Team India are scheduled to play three 50-over games against the Dasun Shanaka-led side to formally kick-start their ODI World Cup preparations with a near full-strength squad.

With stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rahul, and Mohammad Shami returning after missing the T20I series, the selection has become a highly tricky prospect.

Among several positions, the No. 5 spot invites a debate, considering the number of candidates for the same.

Former skipper Kohli and the in-form Shreyas Iyer are likely to claim the initial positions in the middle order, while Hardik Pandya's presence at No. 6 provides the much-needed balance. This leaves Suryakumar and Rahul in a straight shootout for the remaining vacancy in the middle order.

Opining that he prefers Suryakumar over Rahul at the given moment solely on the basis of the former's purple patch, Jaffer said on ESPN Cricinfo:

"The red-hot form that Suryakumar Yadav is in, I prefer him over KL Rahul for the first ODI"

Jaffer continued:

"The focus will be on the Indian batters because they did not play well in the Bangladesh ODIs. The bowlers performed really well there."

Suryakumar scored his third T20 hundred in the series decider against Sri Lanka in Rajkot. While the right-handed batter is yet to completely prove his mettle in the 50-over format, his form in white-ball cricket, in general, cannot be denied.

Rahul, on the other hand, has seemingly been confined to the middle order in ODIs. He scored a fifty in the first ODI against Bangladesh in December 2022 but has largely been erratic in the format of late.

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"That has not been happening for quite a while now" - Wasim Jaffer on top-order batter scoring hundreds

While Team India enjoyed a fabulous set of outings from top-order batters in their most recent ODI endeavor in the form of Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli's hundreds, it has been a rare occurrence in the recent past.

The waning form of the once-illustrious trio of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Kohli has affected the side's fortunes a lot.

Rohit's last ODI ton came in early 2020, while Dhawan has not been selected for the ODI series, suggesting that his journey in national colors is coming to an end.

Opining that the top four batters will have to fire no matter what if India want to score mammoth totals in ODIs, Jaffer said:

"Earlier, when the strength of the Indian team was the top three with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli we usually saw centuries on a consistent basis from them. That has not been happening for quite a while now. If India want to go for scores like 280-300 or over 300, then the top 4 has to fire."

Further adding that the top three will have to take responsibility and not be too over-reliant on the in-form Shreyas Iyer, Jaffer continued:

"Shreyas Iyer is in good form, he has been the standout player, has scored runs consistently. But still, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli will have to take some responsibility in this series."

Team India will face Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the series at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on January 10. Hardik Pandya led the side to a 2-1 series win in the T20Is recently.

Who should bat at No. 5 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka? Let us know what you think.

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