Suryakumar Yadav - A T20 hit yet to find his feet in ODIs

If Suryakumar Yadav's run as a T20I batter has been enchanting, his lack of runs in ODIs so far has been exasperating.

In contrast to 1,675 runs in 48 T20Is at an average of 46.52, including three hundreds, his 476 runs in 25 ODIs at 23.8 with just two fifties are numbers of a man who has inexplicably not yet found his groove in the 50-over format.

Inexplicable because Suryakumar, 32, has most bases covered to carve a successful one-day career. Just like he has in T20Is, where he has indisputably been the world's best batter over the past two years. Mostly used at No. 4, he has often come in and attacked with zeal and purpose from the outset, in the process leading India's continuing endeavour to tweak their batting outlook.

He has done so thanks to a 360-degree range of strokes, the ability to attack pace and spin with equal ease and the temperament to navigate difficult situations.

With all these tools in his locker, it is understandable why India coach Rahul Dravid wants to give the middle-order batter as many opportunities as possible in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup beginning October 5.

"Surya is a really good player. There is no doubt about it. His performances have shown that, especially in T20 cricket and in domestic white-ball cricket. He will be the first one to admit that his ODI numbers haven't been up to his own high standards or the standards he has set in T20s," said Dravid after India's six-wicket loss against West Indies in the second ODI at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday.

"We want to give him as many opportunities as we can. But it is up to him now to take those opportunities. In the kind of set-up we have, we like to give people as many chances as we possibly can."

The ongoing ODI series was a glorious opportunity for Surya to bolster his lean numbers. In the first ODI on Thursday, he was dismissed leg-before on 19 while trying to sweep left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie. On Saturday, he was on 24 when a cut against the left-arm spinner was caught by Alick Athanaze at backward point. These are two starts spurned against a team that hasn't managed to even qualify for this year's World Cup.

With Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul inching ever closer to a return from their injuries — BCCI said on July 21 that both have resumed batting in the nets — Surya knows that middle-order spots will be at a premium by the time the Asia Cup begins on August 30.

Barring the one-day series against Australia at home in March, there hasn't been a worrying pattern to his dismissals though. In that series, he was dismissed for golden ducks twice in succession by left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, the ball that swings back into the right-hander messing with Surya's framework altogether. To add to the doom and gloom, he was trapped leg-before by left-arm spinner Ashton Agar off his first ball in the third ODI too.

We don't quite know whether he has ironed out that frailty against left-arm pacers, but the tinkering with Surya's batting position has perhaps not helped. He has batted in all positions from No.3 to No.7 in his brief ODI career. Even in this series, he batted at No.3 in the opening game before moving down to No.6.

"He's also learning about his game and figuring out how to bat through those middle overs. He is probably learning about one-day cricket. He has played a lot of competitive T20 cricket through the IPL before he made his debut for India. But in terms of one-day cricket, he's probably not played that much competitive cricket," said Dravid.

Dravid is perhaps right. While Surya has played 258 T20s in all so far, his List A appearances stand at 127. Whatever the reasons for Surya's one-day career not yet taking off, can India afford to have a match-winner of his ilk not featuring in the World Cup scheme of things, especially when it's unclear how much time Iyer and Rahul will take to hit their stride? Perhaps not.