It seems to be a case of continuing where he left for Suryakumar Yadav in 2023. The 32-year-old rewrote a number of record books in 2022 by scoring a whopping 1164 runs at a strike rate of 187.43. Now, he has started the new year by adding to his tally of centuries in the format and leading India to a series win in their three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar smashed 112 off just 51 balls in the third T20I on Saturday in Rajkot, hitting seven fours and nine sixes in his innings. Head coach Rahul Dravid, who in his playing days was known for having mastered quite a different style of batting, ended up joking after the match that it seems Suryakumar had never seen him bat and he is glad about it.
"It is lovely to have someone here with me who as a young kid growing up, did not watch me bat. And I hope you didn't, I am sure you didn't," said Dravid in a video posted by BCCI.tv before both him and Suryakumar broke out in laughter. "I did," said the India No. 4 while laughing.
{{/usCountry}}"It is lovely to have someone here with me who as a young kid growing up, did not watch me bat. And I hope you didn't, I am sure you didn't," said Dravid in a video posted by BCCI.tv before both him and Suryakumar broke out in laughter. "I did," said the India No. 4 while laughing.
{{/usCountry}}Suryakumar's batting is a stark contrast to the way Dravid played his cricket. The former India captain was all style, panache and grace, and while one can surely associate all these terms with Surya as well, Dravid's batting was a lot more old school. After all, he is called 'The Wall' for a reason - Dravid was a pure as they come, while Surya… well, he doesn't hold back, does he? Like the old adage goes, one is a surgeon, the other a butcher.
Dravid was in charge when Suryakumar was finding his feet by grinding at the India A level for years, and coincidentally, is now the head coach when SKY is dazzling for the senior team. His unbeaten 112 was Suryakumar's third century in T20Is - all in a span of six months - and all three of SKY's belligerent knocks have come under Dravid. Be it the dominating 117 against England at Trent Bridge in July, the rebellious 111 against New Zealand or last night's epic, each one of Suryakumar's centuries have knocked Dravid off his feat.
"Surya, exceptional. The form that you have been in - everytime I think I have not seen a better T20 innings, you show us something even better. Of all these innings that you have played over the last year that I have had the privilege of watching and enjoying, can you pick one or two that is the best?" Dravid asked.
"I enjoyed batting in all the difficult situations. I can't pick any one innings. It is actually difficult to pick one, I just enjoyed myself. I am just doing the same things that I did last year. I have said before as well, I just try and enjoy when I go in to bat, express myself as much as possible. In those difficult situations when other teams try and take the game off, I and try and take them on. If it works well for me and the team, I am happy."