‘India Doing Injustice to Talent of Abhishek, Ishan and Suryavanshi’: Yuvraj Singh

Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh believes the country is doing an injustice to the talent of three young batters — Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav Suryavanshi — by not giving them opportunities in one-day international cricket.

Yuvraj wants to see all three players feature in India’s 50-over format.

Ishan Kishan has previously represented India in ODIs, having played 32 matches in the format, but has not been a regular member of the team.

Abhishek Sharma, meanwhile, is the world’s top-ranked T20I batter but is yet to make his ODI debut. Youngster Vaibhav Suryavanshi has also not established himself as a regular in India’s T20I setup.

Abhishek and Suryavanshi played key roles in India’s record-breaking powerplay against New Zealand in the third T20I in Wellington.

The duo added an unbeaten 118 runs in the first six overs, setting a record for the highest powerplay total in men’s T20I cricket.

Abhishek scored a remarkable century off just 35 balls in the match. His explosive batting helped India secure an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with two matches remaining. India, however, lost the fourth match.

Speaking to news agency PTI, Yuvraj called for Abhishek’s inclusion in India’s ODI squad.

“Honestly, I would like to see him in the ODI team. I have said before that if we don’t give players like Ishan Kishan, Abhishek and Vaibhav Suryavanshi opportunities in 50-over cricket, we are somehow doing an injustice to their talent,” Yuvraj said.

The former all-rounder acknowledged that finding places for young players in India’s ODI top order would be difficult, given the presence of experienced batters such as Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“I understand that we have several outstanding players in our team, and it is difficult to make room for them (the youngsters),” he said.

However, Yuvraj remains optimistic that the young batters will earn places in the ODI squad soon, considering their recent performances.

He also credited Abhishek’s achievements to his hard work, saying the youngster deserved recognition for his efforts.

India are scheduled to face New Zealand in the fifth and final T20I in Hamilton next Sunday. The two teams will then begin a five-match ODI series on November 4, followed by a two-match Test series.