Former India player Farokh Engineer has opined that Suryakumar Yadav should play ahead of Pujara or Rahane for the third Test in the ongoing series between India and England. Both Pujara and Rahane found some sort of rhythm at the Lord’s Test after they shared a 100-run partnership in the second innings. India eventually won the game by 151 runs. India and England will clash in the third Test at Leeds on August 25th.
SKY was flown in from Sri Lanka to be part of the Test squad
Along with Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav was flown in from Sri Lanka to be part of the Test squad. The Mumbai cricketers were part of India’s squad which was touring Sri Lanka for six limited-overs games. After India lost the services of Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar, the decision of bringing the Mumbai duo was made.
Rahane and Pujara are struggling for form at the moment
Although they did decently well in the second innings of the Lord’s Test, both Rahane and Pujara are actually struggling for form. Hence, there have been calls for replacing the duo for future games. SKY, who enjoys an FC average of 44.01 in 77 games, is one of the possible replacement options.
Farokh Engineer gives his verdict on India’s middle-order combination for the third Test
Farokh Engineer, who is vocal about his opinions on India cricket, said that Suryakumar Yadav should play ahead of Pujara or Rahane for the third Test. Talking to Sports Tak, he said, “Firstly, I am a huge fan of Suryakumar Yadav. I think he is a class player. I would certainly prefer him to Pujara or Rahane. They are class players, very good players, but Suryakumar Yadav is a match-winner.”
Engineer focussed on Team India needing batsmen who can score quick runs. Regarding this, he told, “With Shreyas Iyer out of the team with injury, I think Suryakumar should certainly be in the team. SKY is an aggressive player; he will get you a quick hundred, a quick 70-80. He is a fabulous batsman, fabulous fielder and a wonderful human being as well”. The former player also mentioned that the Headingley pitch is a good batting wicket and a player like SKY in the XI will help Team India.
