Suryakumar Yadav should be included in the playing XI before it is too late – Dilip Vengsarkar

Former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar believes Suryakumar Yadav should be included in the playing XI of the team against England before it is too late in the series.

Yadav has been in sublime form in the limited-overs format and received his maiden call-up for the Test team after impressing with his skills.

The right-hander has been a consistent performer for the team and he can be given a shot in the team’s middle order.

The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been struggling to score consistently in the middle-order in the last two years, which is leading to the downfall of the team but the former had scored a fine knock of 91 runs in the second innings of the Lord’s Test match.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has amassed 5326 runs in 77 first-class matches at an average of 44.01. SKY, as he is known famously, has been hitting ground running in the limited overs side and has an average of 62 in ODIs and 46.33 in T20Is in his young International career.

Dilip Vengsarkar said while talking to PTI, “I don’t like to sound as if it’s a knee-jerk reaction, but I firmly believe we need to strengthen our batting line-up by including Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Hanuma Vihari. We should drop a bowler and go in with six batsmen. Surya can match (in terms of skills) with the best in this Indian team, and since he’s around for some time now, he should be included before it’s too late.”

On the other hand, Dilip Vengsarkar fails to understand why the Indian team is not playing their best spinner – Ravichandran Ashwin. Ravindra Jadeja has been preferred for his batting abilities ahead of Ashwin but he has scalped only two wickets in the first three Test matches.

“Why Ashwin is not being picked so far is a mystery to me. You leave out your best spinner out of the playing eleven to me, is hard to digest. India will have to play with four bowlers and six batsmen if they have to win the remaining games,” Dilip Vengsarkar concluded.

The fourth Test between England and India will start on Thursday (September 2) at The Oval.