While Varun Chakravarthy‘s surprise inclusion, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant’s ommissions from the Indian squads for the Australia tour grabbed the headlines following the national selectors announcing a jumbo touring party, Mumbai’s Suryakumar Yadav endured yet another snub. While his exclusion has been criticised by many former cricketers, fact remains that the 30-year-old has been kept waiting again, despite solid performances. Kumar has been a prolific run-getter in domestic cricket and India’s representational sides in recent times averaging over 50 in all three formats during the 2019-20 season, alongside Shubman Gill; and yet he has been unable to breakthrough. Among various arguments is if Chakravarthy can be picked for an India squad based on his IPL performance and KL Rahul can get a recall to the Test squad again on IPL form, what has stopped selectors from adding the Mumbai middle-order batsman to at least one of the squads.
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This IPL edition, he has averaged over 40 with the bat in 12 games and on Wednesday took his team, Mumbai Indians, home with an unbeaten 79 off 43 balls against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore, sending yet another reminder that he can get the job done. And if that knock was not enough, Kumar ensured that his reaction post the victory was seen clearly. After hitting the winning runs - an authoritative drive for four off Mohammed Siraj - Kumar gestured to the dressing room asking, if he did alright; followed by another gesture, which one would assume meant he’s handled the situation.
WATCH - The Suryakumar Yadav Silent Stare at Virat Kohli That Spoke a Thousand Words
The clip went viral on social media with fans coming out in support of Kumar. To makes matters more intriguing, earlier in the game Indian captain Virat Kohli was seen trying to sledge Kumar, who in turn walked away further fuelling conspiracy theories. The banter, not much of it actually, also went viral on social media, with many calling Kohli’s act shameful. Further, coming out in support of the batsman was MI’s stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard who stated that he is ‘very very close’ to an Indian selection, while coach of the Indian men’s team, Ravi Shastri took to Twitter to ask him to stay strong and patient.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF SURYAKUMAR’S KNOCK HERE:
PS: Fastforward to 2:50 for Kumar’s reaction
Kumar himself did not divulge in the selection matter while speaking to the host broadcasters Star Sports during the post-match, but he did mention that finishing a game was something he wanted to do for a long time. “I was looking to finish the game since a long time. And sitting back in the [hotel] room I was thinking how do I do it? So I wanted to learn what my game is exactly, and just go out there and finish the game for the team," he said.
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