‘Need to strengthen batting by including him’: Vengsarkar names India youngster who can match ‘with the best’

India suffered an embarrassing defeat in the second Test at Headingly as England won the match by an innings and 76 runs.

The Asian giants won the toss and decided to bat first but were bowled out for a paltry total of 78 runs. Despite three half centuries in the second innings, the combined effort of the batting unit left a lot to be desired.

Dilip Vengsarkar was quick to react to the humiliation. In an exclusive interview, Vengsarkar said that India should drop a bowler and look to bring Suryakumar Yadav in as soon as possible.

“I don’t like to sound as if it’s a knee-jerk reaction but I firmly believe we need to strengthen our batting line-up by including Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Hanuma Vihari. We should drop a bowler and go in with six batsmen,” Vengsarkar told PTI.

“Surya can match with the best in this Indian team and since he’s around for some time now he should be included before it’s too late,” Vengsarkar said.

Suryakumar Yadav has proven to be a seasoned professional in all forms of the game in the domestic circuit, but is yet to represent the country in the longest format of cricket. He was handed his debut T20I and ODI caps earlier this year and he performed brilliantly whenever he got the chance.

As Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant seem to be un droppable to their respective reasons, Vengsarkar could be hinting at either Pujara or Rahane to make way for the Mumbai Indians batsman. Suryakumar Yadav is very versatile and can play anywhere in the middle order.

As both Pujara and Rahane have been disappointing recently, a case for Suryakumar Yadav’s inclusion could be made but both the veterans may be given a few more chances as they have carried India’s middle order along with Virat Kohli over the last 5 years or so. KL Rahul could also be dropped for Suryakumar but that seems unlikely as he has performed well in the second Test. India are unlikely to make any alterations in the batting department as it stands.