It won't be an exaggeration to state that Suryakumar Yadav is currently one of the best T20 batters in the world. Some might argue, he is the best. It's a herculean task to make a name in a batting line-up comprising Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli at the top and Hardik Pandya, and Dinesh Karthik as finishers but SKY, as Suryakumar is popularly known as has not only managed to hold his own but has emerged as another superstar in the Indian unit.
Suryakumar appears to have at least two different shots for every ball. You ball him outside off, he can hit it over covers or steer it down thirdman. Bowl him a bouncer, and he hooks it fine or unleashes the 'nataraja shot' by getting into unusual yet effective positions. Test him with spin, he resorts to sweeping or goes down the track to hit inside out. He can also camp on the back foot and is equally effective on both sides of the wicket if the spinners drag it down.
Since making his debut, Suryakumar has scored 1045 runs at a strike rate of 176.81 batting in the middle overs. No other batter has had a similar sort of impact in this format batting at No.4 or below. In the past, South African legend AB de Villiers used to have a similar style and consistency. It was, therefore, not a surprise when de Villiers' teammate and another Proteas legend Dale Steyn compared the Indian right-hander with his former captain.
“He's the kind of player that likes to use the pace of the ball. He likes to get in behind the square. In places like Perth, Melbourne, all of these grounds, there is a little bit of extra pace on it. So, you can use the pace, you can hit on fine leg, behind and all along the carpet. And he's also really good when standing still and getting off the back foot. He has played some amazing back foot cover drives and some beautiful cover drives off the front foot too.
{{/usCountry}}“He's the kind of player that likes to use the pace of the ball. He likes to get in behind the square. In places like Perth, Melbourne, all of these grounds, there is a little bit of extra pace on it. So, you can use the pace, you can hit on fine leg, behind and all along the carpet. And he's also really good when standing still and getting off the back foot. He has played some amazing back foot cover drives and some beautiful cover drives off the front foot too.
{{/usCountry}}"So, he's an all-round player, and it's in Australia, where the wickets are so good, they are batter friendly. You can also get away when a bowler tries to bowl full, you can place the ball left and you can use the pace of the ball really well, given some room. So, he is a wonderful 360-degree player, and reminds me of AB de Villiers. He could be India's version of AB de Villiers and with the red-hot form that he's in right now, he's a player to definitely watch out for this World Cup," Steyn said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Live'.
Suryakumar, who top-scored with 52 in India's first practice match against Western Australia, will be in action again on Thursday against the same opposition in India's second warm-up match.