Georgetown (Guyana): Stylish Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav has admitted that his performance in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) has been subpar and further revealed that the team management has tasked him with discovering ways to contribute to the team's objectives in the 50-over format.
Suryakumar was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliant knock of 83 in the third Twenty20 International (T20I) as India stayed alive in their ongoing five-match series against the West Indies with an emphatic seven-wicket victory in Guyana on Tuesday.
In the process, the 32-year-old became just the third Indian after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to have hit a century of sixes in the shortest format of the game.
Suryakumar was a part of three-match ODI series against West Indies, registering scores of 19, 24, and 35, respectively. His performance in the first two T20Is was disappointing with scores of 21 and 1. However, he managed to deliver an outstanding performance in the must-win tie.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Suryakumar admitted to the noticeable contrast in his performance statistics between the two white-ball formats.
"To be honest, my one-day numbers are absolutely bad and there’s no shame in admitting that. Everybody is aware. We all talk about honesty and you have to be, but how you can improve is more important. Rohit (Sharma) and Rahul (Dravid) sir have told me that this is the format that I don’t play much, so you have to play it more and think about it.
"If you are batting in the last 10-15 overs, think what you can do for the team - all we want from you is, play 45-50 balls if you are getting to bat in the 15-18 overs, play your own game. It’s in my hand now how to change the responsibility into an opportunity," he said.
The right-hander further expressed that he finds the ODIs the most challenging format. Nonetheless, he emphasised that he is actively implementing the guidance provided by the team management and will try to repay the faith.
"We have been playing T20 format so much that I have gotten used to it. One-day is a format that I don’t play much and I find it as the most challenging format. You have to bat differently - if a wicket falls early, you have to bat a little like in Test cricket, then in between you try to accelerate ball by ball and towards the end, you have to bring in the T20 approach.
"So I have been trying to apply what the team management has told me so far about the format. I try to take some time in ODI as per the situation and then play my game towards the end. I will try to repay the faith," he added.
Suryakumar combined well with young gun Tilak Varma (49 not out) to ensure India successfully chased down the 160-run target with more than two overs remaining.
He was suitably impressed with Varma's maturity and believes the 20-year-old has a bright future.
"I feel for his age, he's showing amazing maturity. He knows his game very well what he wants to do when he comes into bat and today he was very clear what he wanted to do and he's mentally very strong. That's the most important thing, what you need when you come into Indian dressing room and you play at this level," he said.
The remaining two games are scheduled to take place in Florida on Saturday and Sunday.