India's late bloomer Suryakumar Yadav grabbed headlines once again after his unbeaten 112 off just 51 balls helped India secure a 2-1 home series victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday, January 7 at the SCA Stadium in Rajkot. It was a brilliant display of brute force, and former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt went on to say that the Mumbai batter is 'lucky to be Indian'.
Suryakumar made his debut for India back in March 2021 after his brilliant form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Mumbai Indians (MI). He was 30 at the time and according to a reported rule of the Ramiz Raja-led Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Surya would not have played for the Men in Green.
“I was reading everywhere that he came to international cricket when he was over 30. I just thought he was lucky that he was Indian. If he were in Pakistan, he would've been victim to the over-30 policy (there have been reports that the Ramiz Raja-led PCB didn't allow players who are 30 or above to join the national team),” Butt was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.
“Those who are in the team, they are fine. Those who aren't in the team won't have a chance. Suryakumar broke into the team when he was 30. So, his case is different,” he stated.
The explosive Indian batter smashed his century off just 45 balls, finishing his innings of 112 runs including nine sixes and seven boundaries to help the Men in Blue post a 228-run total. In reply, Sri Lankan batting was rattled by India's fierce bowling as they crashed to just 137 and handed India the victory.
In what was his third T20I century, SKY joined an elite list of just five international batters who have smashed three or more centuries in the shortest international format.
Butt also joined in appreciating Suryakumar's performance with the bat. “The fitness, the batting reflexes, the batting maturity... it's like he already knows what the bowlers are going to bowl,” he added.
