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'Didn’t think he’d get to the level he’s got to': Australia great's big claim on Suryakumar Yadav's rise
Suryakumar Yadav took his game to a different in level with some record breaking performances in T20Is in 2022 and is now trying to transfer that form into ODI cricket.
Suryakumar Yadav's focus may be on trying to transfer his exceptional T20I form to ODIs but his meteoric rise in the former and the record numbers he boasted in 2022 continues to drive conversations. Suryakumar has scored 1578 runs in 43 innings at an average of 46.41 and a strike rate of a whopping 180.34 in his T20I career.
It was only last year that Suryakumar became a regular with the Indian team but his steady improvement could be seen by those that followed the Indian Premier Leauge (IPL), where he has been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians led by Rohit Sharma for many years. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who is head coach of the Delhi Capitals in the league, admitted that he didn't think that Suryakumar would be able to play the kind of innings he has in the past one year.
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“I think innovation-wise, skill-wise, I haven’t seen a better player in the game. What it’s going to do as well, a lot of other players are going to try and do the things he’s doing and it’s going to add another level of skill to the T20 game all around the world," said Ponting on the ICC Review.
“Someone said during the IPL this year there are going to be guys who are going to try and do exactly the same as what Surya’s doing, and that’s going to be great for the game.”
Suryakumar's ability to hit the ball anywhere to the ground has led to comparisons with South Africa great AB de Villiers.
“He’s probably doing it better than anyone’s ever done it right now. We talk about players that can score 360 degrees … some of the shots he’s hitting back behind the wicket-keeper and over fine leg are just remarkable,” said Ponting.
"Five or six years ago, he started doing that a lot in the IPL. He was very good at flicking the ball over deep-backward square and getting the ball over fine-leg. Surya’s now been able to hit short balls on the way up and flick short balls over the keeper’s head and they’re going for six, not just for four.”
Ponting has said that Suryakumar's improved fitness may have helped him do the things he does. "I didn’t think he’d get to the level he’s got to, to be quite honest. He’s worked as hard as he has – you can probably tell by his body shape. He’s probably fitter than he’s ever been, being around the Indian set up with the likes of (Virat) Kohli and Shreyas Iyer and these guys, who are exceptionally fit young guys. To have those guys leading the way for him, he’s turned into an incredibly good player,” said Ponting.
