Here is why Surya Kumar Yadav draws comparisons with the South African great AB de Villiers.
Bilal Ahsan Dar
The ICC T20I World Cup 2022 is just round the corner. While all the participating nations are busy finalizing their teams and plans, while Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan continue to pile up runs in the home series against England and lead the ICC ranking charts, there is one man who stands out attracting all the limelight before the mega event – Surya Kumar Yadav aka SKY. Surya – sun in Hindi – is shining bright at the right time for his team.
If we were to look at an ideal T20 batter, he has to be someone who possesses a healthy strike rate, decent average and the ability to clear the fence regularly against all types of bowling. To fit into this slot isn’t easy. T20 doesn’t give you much time to settle in, plan and pace your innings. That is why some of the finest cotemporary batsmen are found a little wanting in the shortest format. There are players who have a high strike rate, but their batting average is relatively low. Similarly, there are players who are among top run-getters in the format with a healthy average, but their strike rate remains a question mark and not sufficiently dangerous for the opposition. That is where Yadav walks in, ticks all the boxes and looks a rare breed altogether. He leads the pack of the heavy hitters with a staggering strike rate hovering around 175 and a very healthy average of 39.
Yadav has been in a destructively prime touch ever since he made his T20I debut in March last year. He announced his arrival on the very first ball that he faced at the international level hitting England’s Jofra Archer, one of the finest fast bowlers around, for a six. There has been no stopping after that as he has earned the reputation of being the most devastating batsman around.
Surya’s journey to where he is today is an enthralling story in itself. His hard work and dedication shows that it is never too late to get to your dream destination. Though his name had been around in the domestic circuit for a decade, he had to wait long before he finally got a break at the highest level. Yadav came onto the scene in 2010 when he made his debut for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy and ended up topping the run scoring charts for the season. Later, he started smashing runs for fun in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and KKR, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Deodhar Trophy and for India A as well.
Over the last couple of years, Yadav had been relentless in run scoring and there was no way the selectors could ignore him anymore. The home series against England in March 2021 was his first outing in the Indian colours and he impressed everyone straightaway.
Hailed as India’s best 360-degree batsman, there isn’t any visible weakness so far that the bowlers can exploit.
Yadav’s strokeplay is mindboggling, bordering on superhuman. He is the Indian AB de Villiers, said the former Indian great Harbhajan Singh. Yadav made his debut at 30 plus. At that age AB was already an all-time great, but the consistent pyrotechnics from SKY is why many see in him the shades of the South African great.
SKY is blessed with strong wrists that he uses to high effect. His timing is breathtaking and he’s highly innovative, thus possessing the requisite skillset in sync with modern demands.
Ramp, sweep, inside-out over cover, a lofted shot over the bowler’s head, you name it and Yadav has got it in his armoury.
The ease with which he manipulates the field to find gaps makes Yadav very special and dangerous. He has that extra split second, the uncanny ability to hit the same ball in different directions, which makes it extremely difficult for the opposition to set a field against him.
Another feature of his batting is that he is paced to the changing demands of the match situation. While his shots are jaw-dropping, they are mostly safe and risk-free.
In a star-studded Indian batting line-up, Yadav is the X-factor. It’s not for nothing that the legendary Wasim Akram singled him out as the ‘game changer’ for India in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup. Akram referred to SKY as an unpredictable batsman who is very tough to bowl at and whose presence at the crease in the post-powerplay overs would bring any bowler under pressure.
Australian Coach Andrew McDonald also reckons SKY is going to be a very dangerous batsman in the World Cup 2022.
Former Australian spinner, Brad Hogg believes SKY is going to be the difference for India. “I just think he is going to be the difference in this particular tournament. If he stands out and puts the bowlers off with that array of shots, I think he is going to set the tournament up for India,” remarked Hogg.
He backed the right hander to come in at number 3 with Sharma and Kohli opening the innings.
Surya’s game is probably the template that the Indian coach and captain have promised to deliver.
SKY is likely to bat at 4 in the world cup, but one should not be surprised if he comes in at 3 or even alongside Sharma to open the innings. A true intent merchant meant for the T20 format, who might have started late at this level, for SKY, sky is the limit, in the true sense of the idiom.
Bilal Ahsan Dar is a blogger ad cricket buff.
