'Suryakumar is taking India to totals which you can defend': Sunil Gavaskar heaps praise on superstar batter

Gavaskar also backed the title of Mr. 360 for the Indian batter and applauded him for the range of shots in his artillery.

Suryakumar Yadav is in the form of his life in the T20 World Cup. He is batting ferociously well and at incredible strike rate. The 32 year-old played yet another blinder against Zimbabwe on Sunday. For his knock of 61 runs off 25 balls, he was awarded the Player of the Match. The right-handed batter also completed 1000 runs in T20I cricket in 2022, making him only the second cricketer ever to achieve the milestone. With 1026 runs in 28 innings, he is the highest run scorer in T20I, this year.

Sunil Gavaskar credited Suryakumar Yadav for Team India's big scores in the ongoing T20 World Cup(getty images)

On many occasions in the ongoing T20 World Cup, Team India has scored more than 170-180 runs due to the blitzkrieg by Suryakumar. Batting at No.4, he is providing the much-needed acceleration and momentum shift to India's innings everytime. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was all praise for the NO.1 T20I batter and highlighted his importance in India's big scores.

“He is actually turning out to be the player who is taking India to totals which you can defend. The score India got was the highest T20I score at the MCG. Without his 61 not out, India would not have reached even 150,” Gavaskar told India Today.

Gavaskar also backed the title of Mr. 360 for the Indian batter and applauded him for the range of shots in his artillery.

“Each of those innings was pretty much 360 degrees. He is the new Mr. 360 degree. There was that one shot that he hit for a six just to the left of the wicketkeeper. Then he went a little squarer in the final overs, for example, taking advantage of the angle that the bowler was trying to aim at. Then also the lofted extra cover drive, he has got every shot in the book. There was a straight drive as well,” said the 73-year old.

Currently, Suryakumar is the second highest run scorer for Team India in the tournament. In five matches, he has scored 225 runs at an average of 75 with mind boggling strike-rate of 193.96.