Shreyas Iyer is expected to start for India in their opening 2023 World Cup match against Australia in Chennai on Sunday, according to Aakash Chopra, ahead of Suryakumar Yadav. Additionally, according to Chopra, India would start with three spinners and omit all-rounder Shardul Thakur.
Prior to the World Cup, India and Australia played a three-match ODI series in India. Virat Kohli did not play in the first two games, hence Shreyas and Suryakumar were both in the starting lineup. Suryakumar made fifty runs in the first two ODIs, but Shreyas scored a hundred in the second one.
Shreyas and Suryakumar were included in the playing XI for the third ODI of the series in Rajkot, as several players were absent from the match. India was defeated by 66 runs in the game, with Shreyas scoring 48 and Suryakumar being removed for just 8.
Chopra supported Shreyas over Suryakumar, despite some analysts believing that given his X factor, he should be in the starting lineup for the match against Australia.
On his YouTube channel, he stated:
“Hardik Pandya has not played cricket for a month, so we can only hope he does well. Otherwise, there can be an issue. Apart from Pandya, there is Jadeja. Ravichandran Ashwin, I do not rate him as an excellent all-rounder in one-dayers. He is a bowler, who can bat a bit. Numbers six, seven and eight could be a potential batting problem,” Chopra opined.
With an average of 46.17 throughout 47 ODIs, Shreyas has amassed 1801 runs. Conversely, Suryakumar has amassed 667 runs at an average of 27.79 from 30 games.
