T20 World Cup 2021, India vs NZ: 3 reasons why Suryakumar Yadav must play the second match

Suryakumar Yadav didn't have the ideal start to his first T20 World Cup. His outing against Pakistan was aggressive but short-lived. The Mumbai batter, designated to be India's No.4 in the tournament, was off with a bang, smacking a six and a four. But the good start was quickly undone by Hasan Ali's outswinger that saw Mohammad Rizwan pouch one behind the stumps.

That said, there have been rumor mills churning that Yadav should make way for Ishan Kishan, who, with his left-handed batsmanship, lends India much-needed firepower in the middle.

The presence of a southpaw at the top of the order will most definitely help in unsettling the Kiwi quicks' line and length. Plus, there's the fact that Kishan has played alongside Trent Boult and Adam Milne in the IPL and would come in with the experience of facing them during practice.

Does this make a case for his selection? We take a look at three reasons why India should still persist with Suryakumar Yadav.

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#1 Suryakumar Yadav's T20I record is consistent

That's not to say Kishan's isn't. In his last three T20I outings, Suryakumar Yadav has scores of 57 (31), 32 (17) and 50 (34) before the early fall against Pakistan. Kishan has scores of 56, 4 and 20* in his last three T20Is. While the additional fifty doesn't necessarily mean anything concrete, it does show consistency. Plus, Yadav looks a lot more assured and dependable at the crease.

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#2 It has been just one T20 World Cup game so far

India's top order, barring the notable exception of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, had a meltdown, but that must not be cause for concern as their openers were in sublime form during the warm-up games.

The same can be said for Suryakumar Yadav, who is just one game old and may have had some nervous energy that prompted him to poke one against Pakistan.

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#3 Power-hitting range and fluent stroke-making

A batter comfortable in playing on both sides of the wicket with an uncanny knack of finding boundaries at absolute ease, Suryakumar Yadav can keep the scoreboard ticking and can ease the pressure off Kohli, enabling him to play through the innings.