Follow UsAhead of the first T20I against West Indies, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar reckons Surykumar Yadav is more versatile than Shreyas Iyer has more all-around abilities given his all-round abilities with the bat.
Both Surya and Shreyas were part of the ODI series, which India won 3-0. While Surya finished as the leading run-scorer with 104 runs, Shreyas returned to form in the final game, smashing 80 to help his side over the line.
“Both are very good players, both good strikers of the ball," Agarkar said on Star Sports.
"I just feel Suryakumar Yadav is more versatile if you need him to bat a little bit higher or even if it’s at 5 or 6, he seems to have a bit more to his game or more all-around ability to his batting than Shreyas Iyer.
"Shreyas Iyer is a terrific player who can strike the ball well but at this point, If I had to pick one out of the two – it’ll have to be Suryakumar Yadav because he just seems in better form, seems to have a lot more all-round game and more suited to the number 5 or 6 at this point."
In the recently-concluded IPL auction, Shreyas was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping INR 12.5 crore, while Surya was retained by Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the auction.
Shreyas is also tipped to lead the side, which consists of veterans like Pat Cummins and Ajinkya Rahane.