Former Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has revealed that he only has himself to blame for failing to make it big in the 50-over format. Surya played 37 ODIs, scoring only 773 runs at an average of 25.76.
His last ODI appearance came in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. On the other hand, he was also axed from the Indian T20I team after the successful T20 World Cup 2026 campaign earlier this year.
“Hypothetically, we can say anything – that if I had come into the team in 2016, I could have played Tests and probably done well in ODIs too. But the reality is that I played only one Test and one innings. After that, the other players came back and started playing again, so it didn’t happen. But definitely, I am disappointed with myself when it comes to ODI cricket. It was a white-ball format, just like T20s, but to be very honest, I personally feel I did not put in as much effort as I should have for that format,” Suryakumar Yadav said on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel.
While Surya was largely successful as a T20 batter, courtesy of his aggressive batting skills, he reckoned that the 50-over format demands a far more calculated approach, irrespective of the batting position.
“I feel ODI cricket is probably the most difficult format to play as a batter, whether you are batting lower down the order or anywhere else. You can be two down for zero if you are batting at No. 4, or four down for 24 if you are batting at No. 6. Anything can happen. You have to bat almost like you do in a Test match. You see off the bowlers initially, give them respect and slowly build your innings. You may bat at a strike rate of 50 or sometimes 75, then take it to 100 and eventually finish at 130 or 140, much like you do in T20 cricket,” he added.
“Personally, I feel I could not crack how to approach that format. I knew I was probably going to bat at No. 5 or 6, but even then, I did not work hard enough to understand the format. By the time I could blink, those 20-25 games had gone. I don’t even know when it happened or how it went by,” he concluded.
