Suryakumar Yadav is learning the 50-over game: Rahul Dravid

As India moves to the series-deciding ODI in Chennai, the concerns and talks around T20I star Suryakumar Yadav’s form have taken the front seat. While Yadav has stamped his authority in the shortest international format, he is yet to make his bat talk when it comes to the ODIs. Mumbai batter's underwhelming run in the 50-over format got further stretched when he bagged two golden ducks against sizzling Mitchell Starc in the first two ODIs against Australia.

However, Yadav’s dismal form in ODIs hasn’t let head coach Rahul Dravid lose his faith in the capabilities of the middle-order star. Dravid is of the belief that the 32-year-old is still learning the ODI format, adding that the batter’s exposure in the 50-over format has been far lesser than the shortest international format. Notably, Yadav, who is up against injured Shreyas Iyer at number four, has donned the blue jersey in only 22 ODIs when compared to his 48 T20I games.

The head coach also added that the middle-order batter hasn’t had the chance to play many high-pressure ODI tournaments at the domestic level (except Vijay Hazare Trophy). While he has been a regular face in T20 cricket, including the high-pressure IPLs. Dravid has thrown his support behind the struggling batter a day after skipper Rohit Sharma added that the potential players wouldn't be denied longer ropes under him.

Suryakumar Yadav has played a lot of high-pressure T20 games unlike ODIs, says Dravid

“Not really concerned about Surya. He got two very good balls. One of the things about Surya is that he is learning the 50-overs game. The T20 is slightly different. In T20, he has played 10 years of IPL," said Dravid while speaking to reporters in Chennai.

“He (Surya) has played a lot of T20 cricket. He has played a lot of high-pressure T20 games. Like IPL for T20 cricket, there is not enough high-pressure tournaments for ODIs at the domestic level, apart from the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Even though he has played a lot of t20 cricket I think he has not played a lot of one-day cricket. We need to give him some time and be patient with it. We certainly see the upside of him doing well,” Dravid concluded.

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