The South African legend believes the Indian middle-order maverick is absolutely on the right track and would be counted in the game’s “golden books” if he can consistently perform like he has for the next five to ten years.
In an interview with PTI, de Villiers heaped effusive praise on Suryakumar, who has been tremendous for India since his debut in the shortest format in 2021. The batter is averaging 42.33 with an exceptional strike-rate of 179.63 over 37 innings for his 1,270 runs for India in T20Is.
The ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 has seen him take his game a notch higher only. The 32-year-old stands second in the runs tally for India after the great Virat Kohli, with three half-centuries under his belt from five games ahead of the semifinals.
Suryakumar dominated Netherlands and Zimbabwe, but his most noteworthy effort came against South African. Making his first trip to Australia for competitive cricket, he seamlessly adjusted to the high-end pace and steep bounce on offer at Perth and produced an outstanding knock of 68 off 40 balls when the rest of the Indian batting collapsed.
That was arguably the knock of the tournament, played in the toughest possible conditions available in Australia. While India lost the match after posting a measly 133/9 despite his effort, Suryakumar’s knock was a big positive for an Indian side in need of more consistent batting performers. It was a knock that De Villiers would’ve been proud of.
“Yes, they are [right in comparing Suryakumar with me]. The only thing he will have to concentrate on is his consistency. He will have to do this for five to ten years and then he will find himself in the golden books of cricket players,”
De Villiers told PTI.
“Any player that gets into form… I think of quite a few guys who really start playing at the peak of their powers, that makes me very excited. Each sportsman for that matter, it’s beautiful to watch when they are really free and having fun out there. Great to watch Surya play the way he is playing now,”
he added.
The comparison has been brewing ever since Suryakumar’s extravagant strokeplay, especially his ability to manufacture boundaries behind square, has come to light. However, Yadav himself doesn’t think he is in the same bracket yet.
In an interview with host broadcaster Star Sports, he said:
“I feel there is only one 360-degree player in the world [AB de Villiers]. I just try to play the way I can. I try to stay as still as possible so that I can hit the ball to the areas I want to. I bat the same way in the nets, but there I put more pressure on myself so that I have less pressure in the match.”
Suryakumar may not find himself a 360-degree intimidating player like De Villiers, but their game plan seems to be the same: rather than looking to muscle the ball, like the Proteas great, he focuses on manipulating the field through unique strokes behind square on both sides of the wicket. On Australian grounds with long straight boundaries, it’s a ploy that has worked magic for the player.
