"Kisi Aur Planet Se Aaya Hai ": Wasim Akram's High Praise For India Star
Suryakumar Yadav's range of shots has impressed all, including Pakistan pace great Wasim Akram.
After some great action in the group stages, which included upset losses for some of the top teams, the T20 World Cup now gets ready for the semi-final action. New Zealand play Pakistan in the first semi-final on Wednesday, while India face England the next day. Barring a loss to South Africa, the Indian team was unbeaten in the other Group 2 games which included wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh. A lot of India's top form was due to Suryakumar Yadav firing on all cylinders. In the last four games, he has scored three half-centuries. With a tally of 225 runs in five games, he is the third-highest run-getter in the T20 World Cup. On top of that, his strike-rate is an astounding 193.96.
His range of shots has impressed all, including Pakistan pace great Wasim Akram. "Mujhe toh lag raha ye kisi aur planet se aaya hai (I think he is from some other planet). He is totally different from anybody else. The amount of runs he has scored. I mean he is the only batter to score 1000 runs T20I in 2022. He's just a treat to watch and not just against Zimbabwe, against the top bowling attacks in the world," Akram said during a discussion on A Sports.
"He is such a fearless batter along with his talent. Darna nahi hai, gend lag bhi jaaye.. matlab maja aata hai aise ladke ko khelta dekh kar (He is so fearless that he is not even worried about getting hit on the body. I love watching him play."
Waqar Younis, who was present during the discussion, added: "Bowler jaaye toh jaaye kahaan (Where should the bowler bowled at him)."
Suryakumar is currently the No. 1 T20I batter according to ICC rankings, and Team India would hope him to continue his red-hot form in the knockouts too.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
India Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team