"I would always back that sort of player" - Saba Karim on why he would pick Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Sanju Samson in India's World Cup squad

Saba Karim has highlighted that he would pick Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Sanju Samson in India's World Cup 2023 squad due to his game-changing abilities.

Karim recently picked his preferred Indian squad for the World Cup to be played later this year. Assuming Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul will be fit and available for the quadrennial event, the former Indian wicketkeeper-batter chose Suryakumar as the backup middle-order batter in the squad ahead of Samson.

During an interaction with News24 Sports, Karim was asked why he picked Suryakumar ahead of Samson despite his poor returns in ODIs this year, to which he responded:

"I still feel Suryakumar Yadav is a game changer. If you talk about both of them, I feel Suryakumar Yadav has more match-winning ability, which he has shown in T20s. I would always back that sort of player because he can turn the game in your favor from an extremely difficult position as well."

The former Indian selector pointed out that the Mumbai Indians batter came into his own in IPL 2023 after enduring a lean run even in T20I cricket heading into the tournament:

"It is a different thing that he hasn't scored runs. He hadn't scored runs in T20Is as well but then how he came back and scored runs in the IPL. So it depends on how you back the players and what role you give to them."

Karim added that Suryakumar's role in ODI cricket needs to be clearly defined:

"If you are playing Suryakumar in ODIs and expecting him to score runs as he does in Ranji Trophy, it's not going to happen. You will have to give him a specific role, which has been given to him in T20Is because of which he is performing."

Suryakumar has aggregated 433 runs at an underwhelming average of 24.05 in 23 ODIs. He has endured a horror run in 2023, managing just 49 runs in six innings and falling for a golden duck in each of his last three outings.

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"That is not required" - Saba Karim on whether Suryakumar Yadav should open in ODIs

Suryakumar Yadav has never opened in ODIs.

Saba Karim was further asked what he would tell Suryakumar Yadav and if he would get him to open in the World Cup, to which he replied:

"No, that is not required. I will communicate more with Suryakumar Yadav. I feel he is a player who has reached a level where you can't tell him a lot. You expect him to tell you what he wants to do and then you will define his role in the team accordingly."

Karim concluded by stating that he would try to extract from Suryakumar why he feels he is unable to score runs in ODIs. He added that he would accordingly chalk out the unconventional batter's role based on what he needs to do for the team's benefit going forward.