Virat Kohli vs Suryakumar Yadav: Here's why SKY should bat at number 3 for India in Asia Cup 2022

Virat Kohli hasn't been at his best for much of the year 2022. He has struggled for consistency, runs haven't flowed out of his bat like they used to before, and on top of that, the competition for places in Team India is getting more and more cut-throat with each passing day. 

Players like Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda have been knocking on the door for a while now, with many former cricketers questioning the BCCI why reputation is still being preferred over talent or form. 

Speaking of form, Suryakumar has been in the form of his life. Not only has he risen to second place in the ICC's T20I ranking for batsmen, just shy of Babar Azam at the top, SKY is also one of the most consistent players for India of late. 

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Rewind to earlier this year, when West Indies came to tour the Indian subcontinent, Suryakumar Yadav was adjudged as the Man of the series for the T20I leg.

Suryakumar Yadav (in Cricbuzz) said, “ Virat Kohli giving me his No. 3 position in the last T20I vs England, boosted my confidence. “

— Neelabh (@CricNeelabh) July 9, 2021

He subsequently, injured himself, but the 30-year-old returned during IPL 2022 and was one of the best players for Mumbai Indians (MI) in a season where all the big names struggled. Toward the end of IPL, SKY again got injured but returned later and redeemed himself once again during the Ireland tour. 

The versatile middle-order batsman showed his class once again during India's tour of England, and he was on fire during the West Indies ODIs. It has been a period of domination for him, while it has been a long time since Kohli has dominated in the manner like SKY has. 

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The Indian middle order will be stacked as Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik all of them set to fight it out amongst themselves. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will most likely open for India. Who follows them at number 3 will be a big dilemma for the head coach Rahul Dravid. 

"I still remember when I made my batting debut, he (Virat Kohli) was the one who sacrificed his position & let me go at No.3 vs England he batted at 4. It was the same thing. He asked I want to go in so that I get some WC game time. It was really nice of him." - Suryakumar Yadav

— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) November 18, 2021

It has been a spot where Kohli has earned his bread and butter, but SKY is challenging his supremacy, and even though he remains versatile enough to play at number 4 as well, the kind of form he's in, any team would want a player of his pedigree to stay in the middle for as long as possible. 

When India take on Pakistan in their opening game of Asia Cup 2022, all eyes will be on Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, and the batting order of Men in Blue.