Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers has lavished praise on Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav for his performances in the T20 cricket.
Ever since making his T20I debut, Suryakumar emerged as one of the best batters in the format. His ability to play unconventional shots often gets compared to South African batting legend AB de Villiers. He is considered the Indian version of AB de Villiers.
Recently, Suryakumar Yadav slammed 100 off 56 balls in the 3rd T20I against South Africa in Johannesburg and became the third batsman after Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell to score four centuries in the history of T20I cricket. Also, he is the fastest player to achieve this milestone, completing it in just 57 innings.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers commended Suryakumar Yadav for his exploits in the 3rd T20I against South Africa. He also shared his thoughts on Mr.360 tag to Surya.
“I just love watching SKY bat. I just think we need to change his bat to a 360 bat. We will work in partnership so we don't have to argue who is the real Mr. 360. I will design a bat and let SKY bat with it. He just loves playing T20 cricket." Former South Africa batter said.
“Suryakumar Yadav, Mr. 360 as they call him, I am very sad about as he is stealing my nickname (laughs). He is just a fantastic player. It was just a wonderful innings at the Bullring, scoring a hundred off just 56 balls." he added
Suryakumar Yadav’s T20I career
Suryakumar Yadav made his T20I debut against England in March 2021. Since then, he has been part of India’s T20I setup.
Surya’s biggest achievement came in 2022 when he became the first Indian batsman to aggregate 1000 runs in a calendar year in T20Is. That year, he was the highest run-getter in T20Is, aggregating 1164 runs, including 2 centuries and 9 half-centuries, at an average of 46.56 and a strike rate of 187.43 in 31 matches.
In the T20 World Cup 2022, The 33-year-old was the third-highest run-getter of the tournament with 239 runs in six matches.
In the 3rd T20I against South Africa, Suryakumar Yadav became the joint-fastest Indian batsman to complete 2000 T20I runs, achieving the milestone in 56 innings.