Ajinkya Rahane reveals Suryakumar Yadav’s batting position in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026

Former Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane has backed the Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav to bat at No.3 in the forthcoming T20I series against New Zealand and the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rahane asserted that though Surya failed to create an impact in the past few matches in the shortest format of the game, he defended him to come out stronger in the forthcoming encounters.

“At number three, I would love to see Suryakumar Yadav coming in at that position because his batting pattern is such that he takes a little time at the start. If he comes in at number three, he can take that initial time and then build his innings from there. In the last 15, 17, or 18 innings, his scores haven’t been great, but I don’t think that will make much of a difference. Suryakumar is the kind of player who, on his day, will win matches for India,” Ajinkya Rahane said on his YouTube channel.

“And if you have a captain who is supremely confident about his batting ability, it is all about going out there and playing with positive intent. That is why I would want Suryakumar to bat at number three, so that he can take some time early on. Once he is set and in rhythm, he can then play freely,” he added.

Additionally, Rahane wants Tilak Varma to bat at the No.4 spot, courtesy of his recent form in this particular format, adding that the middle-order batter knows well on how to tackle spinners and put pressure on the opposition bowlers.

“At number four, Tilak Varma for me, because although his recent form has been very good. In 50-over matches, T20 matches, and whatever domestic cricket he has played, he has performed well. He is a confident cricketer and a versatile batsman. If you look at his shot range, he plays shots all around the ground and puts good pressure on spinners, which is very important when you are batting in the middle order in the T20 format. Putting pressure on spinners is crucial. He can rotate the strike, but when you can also hit big shots against spinners and play with confidence, it is a very good sign,” he concluded.

India’s squad for T20I series against NZ announced & ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK).

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