Arguably the finest batter in the world when it comes to T20 cricket, Suryakumar Yadav has been 'bossing' the shortest format in a manner not many have in the past. While the likes of AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and a few others have achieved exceptional results in T20 cricket, what Surya is doing at the moment, has made many wonder if he is the best 'there ever has been' in the shortest format of the game. Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja went on to make a bold comment as he stressed that Suryakumar might even be 'a little more consistent' than the great De Villiers.
In a chat on Cricbuzz after India's thumping 91-run victory over Sri Lanka in the 3rd and final T20I in Rajkot, Jadeja delved into the comparisons between De Villiers and Suryakumar. Be it power, wrist work, consistency or the hitting angles, Jadeja spoke about a number of aspects while comparing the two.
"With AB de Villiers we saw, I mean he was one of the finest we have seen, no doubt. His (Suryakumar Yadav) consistency is a little bit more and I think what he adds with AB is that there's a little more power to his game. What he adds is the wrist work which AB didn't have. So the angles you were talking about, they were because of the wrists. both sides his wrists work better than AB also," he said.
Suryakumar went on to score a 51-ball 112 against Sri Lanka in the 3rd T20I on Saturday. As questions about the way the middle-order batter has changed the way batting in T20 cricket is perceived, he truly has established his name as the No. 1 batter in the world in this format.
The 32-year-old would now look to translate his excellent form into ODI cricket as India take on the Lankans in a 3-match series, starting January 10.