Suryakumar Yadav is currently in exceptional form with the bat for India in T20I cricket. He moved up to the second rank in the ICC player rankings, scoring more than 700 runs in 2022, — the highest by an Indian batter in a calendar year. Yadav, who scored one of his classiest fifties against South Africa on a tricky surface in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, is just 24 runs short of completing 1000 runs in the 20-over format.
He has also scored his runs at a whopping strike rate of 180.29 this year. Overall, his strike rate is 173.35 across 32 games, where he has smashed 57 sixes and 88 boundaries in his India career. And joined in the accolades for Surya is former India batter, Mohammad Kaif, who explained how SKY fits perfectly at the No. 4 slot. Kaif labelled the in-form star as a match-winner and singled him out for his ability to play against any opposition, irrespective of the surface.
"Top class pacers or spinners, turning or seaming pitches, difficult match situation - nothing bothers Surya. He might not win the orange cap, MoM but he will win you matches. No.4 pe rumal daal diya Surya ne, he's not moving for a long time," tweeted Kaif.
The spotlight will be on Yadav as team India head to Australia for the highly anticipated T20 World Cup in October-November. He is known for his ability to shift gears and 360-degree strokeplay — among two prerequisites in any 20-over game.
In the series opener against South Africa, Yadav hit two sixes off his first three balls — a testament to his batting prowess. He helped India recover from 17/2 and stitched an unbroken 97-run stand with KL Rahul, who hit 51 not out.
Yadav remained unbeaten on 50 off 33 balls as India reached a modest 107 target with more than three overs to spare and eight wickets in hand. He went past Shikhar Dhawan, who had hit 689 runs in a single calendar year in 2018. Yadav now has 732 runs under his belt.
