Might tilt towards Iyer over Suryakumar for no.4 slot in WT20 given his experience, opines Aakash Chopra 

Might tilt towards Iyer over Suryakumar for no.4 slot in WT20 given his experience, opines Aakash Chopra 

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Shreyas Iyer raising his bat after reaching fifty

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BCCI

Aakash Chopra reckons that the no.4 position in the Indian line-up can see a good competition between Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav, though he would back Iyer given his experience. He added that it's a lovely dilemma to have and will come down to the current form of the batters.

While a lot of teams have started building up for the T20 World Cup that will take place in the Middle East in a few months time, India's first-choice team will directly feature in the IPL and then the ICC mega event. However, the second-string Indian team will be taking on Sri Lanka, in a short while, in the three-match T20I series. It will provide a host of batters like Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan, and Sanju Samson to stake their claims for potential slots in India's line-up for the T20 World Cup. 

There will be a lot of eyes fixated on Suryakumar Yadav who had taken his debut series by storm and stamped his authority. Aakash Chopra reckons if India play KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the top three, then there might be a shoot-out between the Mumbai duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer.

"If Rahul and Rohit open and Kohli plays at No.3, you play Hardik and Rishabh Pant at No.5 or No.6 or the other way around, then you have got Ravindra Jadeja followed by Washington Sundar. So, only one slot is left and that is No.4. So Shreyas or Suryakumar at No.4, it is a tough call," Chopra said on his Youtube channel, reported HT.

He picked Shreyas Iyer over Suryakumar, owing to his experience and the way he has done for India in the 50-overs format.

"You will tilt towards Shreyas Iyer only because he has the greater experience, he has already performed well in the ODI team and is also the captain of his team. If he does well in the IPL, you might just go with him, to begin with."

However, the former Indian Test opener also feels that a good showing in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, followed by a good IPL can get the Mumbai Indians batsman a slot in the line-up.

"But if Suryakumar Yadav does very well in the six matches now and the IPL also complements that, then you will have to go with Suryakumar Yadav.

He signed off by saying that it's a lovely selection headache and it might all boil down to the current form of the players in question. 

"It's a lovely dilemma. I can't pick a player at this point because both are good and have the ability to play better than run-a-ball and have the requisite experience of T20 cricket. So maybe just go by current form."

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