IND vs NZ: Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid played a huge role in my transition from T20Is to ODIs, says Suryakumar Yadav

India batter Suryakumar Yadav has credited captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid for helping him in the transition from T20Is to ODIs. Speaking to Star Sports ahead of the World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand, Yadav said that the captain-coach duo helped him understand the format when he was struggling with his fifty-over game.

“Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have played a huge role in my transition from T20Is to ODIs. It has taken a long time for me to understand the format. People were saying that the colour of the ball is the same, so why was I not able to adjust? There is no shame in admitting that I had a poor start to my ODI career,” Suryakumar Yadav said on Star Sports ahead of the semi-final fixture vs New Zealand.

Yadav rose to prominence with sensational performances in the T20 format. Yadav was successful both for his Indian Premier League franchise and country and was fast-tracked to the ODI team. Yadav was brought in for his 360-degree ability which India thought would come in handy in the ODI format. The transition turned out to be a nightmare for Yadav who struggled for an extended period.

India backed Yadav and gave him a run of good 30 ODI matches to settle into a role. Yadav said that Rohit and Dravid came to him, and told him what was expected and asked him to prepare according to his role.

“I watched a lot of players play the format, watched everything carefully. Rahul Dravid and Rohit told me that we want to know how you can play 50-55 balls and they gave the responsibility to me. I understood that I need to start my innings like a Test match. Start slowly and then gradually build my innings. And in the final 8-10 overs just go full blast and I practice the same in the nets,” Suryakumar Yadav further added.

Yadav has not batted a lot in the World Cup 2023. His only big contribution came against England, where he helped the Indian team reach a respectable total of 229/9 in a tricky pitch. Yadav scored 49 off 47 balls and got out to David Willey in the 47th over. Later in the game, an Indian bowling attack dominated the scene and bowled England out for just 129 runs.