Suryakumar Yadav, the world No. 1 T20I batter, is in red-hot form at the T20 World Cup. The right-handed middle-order batter is performing consistently en route to becoming the second-highest run-getter for Team India in the tournament. If his innings of 51 not out against the Netherlands and 68 against South Africa weren’t explosive enough, Suryakumar played yet another blinder, scoring 61 runs off just 25 balls at an incredible strike rate of 244 as India defeated Zimbabwe on Sunday.
Suryakumar’s exploits with the bat have won him many fans among several former cricketers and legends of the game. Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody is in awe of the striking ability of the India batter. Moody was asked on ESPNcricinfo whether Suryakumar should be promoted up the order in the semi-final between India and England and the Australian was dead against the idea, while reserving a special praise for the ‘360-degree player’
“If you had six Suryakumar Yadavs, I’d have all six of them in my team. That’s always the case when you have got a player of that calibre and someone who is in that red-hot form. He can bat anywhere. No question about that. But, he is feeling very comfortable in that position (No. 4). I would keep him there,” said Moody.
Courtesy Suryakumar’s explosive strike-rate, Team India has been able to score big totals in the T20 World Cup. He has been in such great form that even the likes of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya have been forced to play second fiddle when batting with him.
With 1026 runs in 28 innings, Suryakumar is the highest run scorer in T20Is this year. The right-handed batter also completed 1000 runs in T20I cricket in 2022, making him only the second cricketer ever to achieve the milestone. His rise in cricket has been meteoric, considering he made his debut for Team India only last year. In only 39 T20Is, Suryakumar has amassed 1270 runs at a brilliant average of 42.33 with 12 fifties and an astonishing century, which he scored against England at The Oval.
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