He is much like AB de Villiers at his best: Ravi Shastri on Suryakumar Yadav

A lot has already been spoken about India’s new middle-order sensation, Suryakumar Yadav as the hard-hitting batter continues to deliver in high-octane situations, introducing a new brand of cricket that the world has very rarely stayed witness to.

The year 2022 saw SKY flapping his wings majestically, grabbing the shortest format of the game by the scruff of its neck and then blitzing his way past a string of opposition bowlers, bringing out exquisite strokes that very few had the opportunity to witness before. Such has been the brilliance of SKY that former India coach, Ravi Shastri was left in awe of Surya's hard-hitting style.

Speaking to Prime Video post-India’s second fixture against New Zealand, Shastri said, “He is one of the best players in the world if not the best T20 player. He has got the all-round game and he is devastating. On his day, if he bats 30-40 balls, he’ll win you the match because he scores at that pace and he demoralizes the opposition with the kind of shots he plays. He is much like AB de Villiers at his best. When AB played one of those special innings, it deflated the opposition and Surya can do just that.”

Ravi Shastri also talked about SKY’s ODI form when he was told about the batter’s not-so-prolific returns in the longer format of the white ball game. The former Indian cricketer said, “If you look at the numbers and law of averages, he is bound to have an innings like that. But if he gets past the 15-20-run mark, he makes it count as he showed in some of his earlier innings. So, he backs his ability and attacking instincts. So, when you have those kinds of instincts, every odd inning, he is bound to fail. But when it comes off, it’s spectacular.”

Surya will be a crucial part of the Indian cricket team when they take on New Zealand for the series decider with India still trailing after the second ODI was washed out. India got off to a fine start at Seddon Park but the Rain Gods weren’t kind enough to let the game go on.