In the upcoming ODI series against Australia, Rahul Dravid allayed fears over India's batting and supported Suryakumar Yadav, who has already recorded two first-ball ducks as Shreyas Iyer's replacement at the critical No. 4 slot. A day after Rohit Sharma underlined his leadership philosophy of recognizing potential with a long rope, Dravid vowed for a display of patience for Suryakumar.
"Naturally, it's sad for Shreyas to get an injury as he is one of the players we believe will bat for us at No. 4 and has spent a lot of time there. I'm not too worried about Suryakumar. Two first-ballers are up against two quite excellent balls "Regarding the two Starc deliveries that had Suryakumar's name on them and arrived in Mumbai and Vizag at 145 and 144 kmph, respectively, Dravid stated.
Suryakumar's batting statistics were glaringly skewed prior to the ODI series against Australia last week. The Mumbai hitter has played nearly twice as many games in the shortest format in the 13 years since making his List A and T20 debuts - 242 to 124, with 123 of those at high-octane in the IPL - a numbers difference that is not lost on Dravid.
"Surya's ability to learn the 50-over game is just one of his qualities. The T20 match is a little distinct. Even though you hadn't played for India in a while, you played in the IPL, a T20 cricket league that is comparable to international cricket, for over ten years."
The IPL gave Suryakumar the foundation for his incredible T20 game, but there hasn't nearly been a 50-over counterpart for him to make that type of sustained improvement. Suryakumar has played in more than twice as many T20Is (48 to 22) as ODIs (10) at the international level.
"He has participated in numerous T20 matches under extreme pressure, but there isn't a domestic one-day cricket event that compares; you'll have to play Vijay Hazare and all that. He has played a lot of T20 cricket, but I don't believe he has played as much one-day cricket. All we have to do is be patient and give him some time. We can definitely see the benefits of him succeeding, which is great for the side "added Dravid.
In India, it's also against the law to wager on cricket online, and those discovered doing so risk severe repercussions. Three men were detained by the Delhi Police in 2019 for operating an illicit online betting scheme during the India vs. Australia T20 series. The three guys were arrested and accused with violating numerous provisions of the Indian Criminal Code and the IT Act after the police seized laptops, cell phones, and cash.
Despite cricket betting being legal in India, the market is prospering; estimates place the country's underground betting market's value at around Rs. 3 lakh crore.
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