NEW DELHI: India head coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday commended Mumbai Indians' Suryakumar Yadav for his 43-ball 79 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and asked the batsman to "stay strong and patient".
Yadav led MI to an important victory against RCB and won the Man of the Match award. The innings came shortly after he missed out on the Indian squad selected for the upcoming tour of Australia.
"Surya namaskar. Stay strong and patient @surya_14kumar #MIvsRCB," Shastri tweeted.
The selectors' decision to not pick Yadav in the Indian squads for the ODIs or T20Is has been met with significant criticism. Former India captain and ex-chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar and veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh were among those who criticised the selectors for not including the Mumbai batsman.