'He's Pulling Off Shots I Never Did': AB de Villiers on Suryakumar Yadav Being Called His 'Indian Replica'

It’s been over two years since Suryakumar Yadav made his international debut and in a short period, he established himself as the world’s premier T20 batter.

His record speaks for itself.

In 48 T20Is, Suryakumar has 1675 runs at 46.52 and boasts of an outstanding strike-rate of 175.76. He has struck three centuries and 13 half-centuries in the format.

No wonder he’s the top-ranked T20I batter currently.

Suryakumar has dazzled with his unorthodox strokeplay which has resulted in  comparisons with the legendary South African AB de Villiers.

Both Suryakumar and De Villiers are known as Mr 360 degree – a reference to their ability to play shots all around the park with surreal ease.

De Villiers, who announced retirement from all forms of cricket in November 2021, says Suryakumar is able to pull off shots he never could.

“I think it’s incredible,” De Villiers told Robin Uthappa when he called Suryakumar his ‘Indian replica’ during a conversation on JioCinema. “I think he’s (Suryakumar) pulling off shots that I never did. I really do, when it gets going, it’s lovely to watch. I think he’s got a long way to go still. I think there’s more to come. I think there’s even a better player in the future, so that’s very exciting.”

While Suryakumar has cemented his spot in T20Is, he’s yet to replicate his success in the longer formats.

While he has just played one Test, the 32-year-old has been part of 33 ODIs so far and has managed just 433 runs in them at 24.05.

De Villiers thinks that being consistent in Tests and ODIs will be the biggest challenge for Surya.

“His biggest challenge will be to be consistent in all the formats and to figure out his game in Test cricket, in ODIs and in T20 and understand how it works for him,” De Villiers said.

“I think he should actually just realize it’s all exactly the same. I do see a lot of similarities. He’s just going to be able to shift through the gears and I mean, it’s incredible to watch. He can score all around the ground. And when he’s confident, he moves so slowly and he sets it so beautifully upright. He gets the ball nice and late.

“And once you snap that as a batter, once you realize that the faster the bowler gets, the more you’ve got to let it come and that is really starting to click and I think he has clicked that,” he added.