'Don't compare Surya with Sanju' - Kapil Dev's assessment of Suryakumar Yadav after his horrible ODI series against Australia

The ODI series against Australia turned out to be a nightmare for India’s middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav. He did not manage to open the account even once in all three matches and joined the list of batsmen who have scored three consecutive golden ducks in ODIs. India also had to bear the brunt of his poor performance and the team had to lose the series 1-2.

After Suryakumar’s horrible performance in the series, the possibility of Sanju Samson replacing him was discussed. Meanwhile, the former legendary Indian captain, who also led the Indian team to their first-ever World Cup title, Kapil Dev gave a big statement about Suryakumar. Kapil does not agree with the comparison and he believes that it is not right to compare Suryakumar Yadav with Sanju Samson.

"A cricketer who has played so well will always get more chances. Don't compare Surya with Sanju Samson, it doesn't seem right. If Sanju goes through a bad phase then you will talk about somebody else. This should not happen. If the team management has decided to back Suryakumar Yadav then he should be given more chances. Yes, people will talk, and give their opinion but ultimately it's the management's call," Kapil told ABP News.

It's very easy to talk after the match is finished: Kapil Dev

Interestingly, Suryakumar, who is the no.1 batter in T20Is was sent to bat at no.7 in the final ODI but changing his batting order couldn’t bring any change in his performance. Kapil backed Rohit Sharma and the Indian team management as he said that shuffling is a common thing in ODIs and it is nothing new

"It's very easy to talk after the match is finished. Maybe the idea behind sending Suryakumar at No.7 was to give him an opportunity as a finisher. This (shuffling of the batting order) is nothing new in ODIs. This has happened many times before. Yes, at times it can happen that a batter's confidence is dented if he has been dragged down the order. But the onus rests on the player to tell his captain that 'I can handle myself in the top order.' The coach and captain must have taken the decision with particular thinking," he added.