He could be India's version of AB de Villiers: Dale Steyn on Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has found himself in the midst of some terrific form that saw him humbling the gigantic likes of Australia and South Africa and this is just another extension of the kind of domination that he has been building over the span of the past one year.

Ever since he made his debut in the shortest format of the game, Surya has smashed 1045 runs at a stunning strike rate of 176.81 while batting in the middle overs. Now even though, it is too early for a comparison, yet, South African fast bowling legend, Dale Steyn believes that the last time he saw someone pulling off such antiques, it was none other than the iconic AB de Villiers.

Talking about Surya’s technique, Steyn said, “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.”

“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," added the former RCB and South Africa speedster.

In India’s first warm-up game where the batters struggled against a quality Western Australia bowling unit, it was Suryakumar Yadav’s brilliant half-century that helped Team India secure a comfortable win.