SKY With No Limits!
In 2020, when the world was silent, Surya Kumar Yadav was making the right noises. A flamboyant player, with a 360˙ range was knocking the doors of the selectors with his high-quality performances in both domestic cricket, and IPL. Although, he had consistently performed in the 2018 and 2019 editions of IPL, many would have thought a player nearing 30 would not be selected for the shortest format of the game. But Surya defied all odds, when he was selected for the home series against England. A reward for his consistent performances throughout the years.
A batter walking out to bat on his debut goes through a wide range of emotions, and when the bowler is Jofra Archer, anyone would be a little nervous and intimidated. But the spectators and commentators were not aware of what they were about to witness. Surya smashed the first ball he faced on his international debut for six over square leg. The IPL star had announced his arrival with a classic Suryakumar Yadav pull, with a touch of calypso in it. Surya, smashed two fifties in his first three international innings, a special feat for a T20 player starting his career at the age of 30.
After that there was no looking back! Series after series, Surya amazed the crowd and followers throughout the world with his innovative batting style. No one could guess the destruction a man could do on the field who casually walked out to bat with chewing gum in his mouth and stayed unfazed by whatever the situation his team was in. With back-to-back world cups, Surya was the answer for the explosive player Indian team was looking for. A player who could destroy any bowling line up with his class and flamboyance. Although, the world cups didn’t go in favour of the Indian Team, Suryakumar Yadav was a shining light at the end of the tunnel for Indian Cricket. After a decent 2021, Surya did the extra-ordinary and showed his class throughout as he smashed bowlers all around the world and scored hundreds against top opponents like England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the T20 format.
Commentators and players are generally left speechless and there is hardly any phrase which could describe the audacity of a shot where they see Surya sweep a fast bowler over square leg for a six!! Virat Kohli, once famously described one of the innings by Surya as “Another video game Innings” and maybe that would be the closest phrase we could ever use to describe how outrageous Surya is, with his batting style. Surya has left behind many greats in the T20 format with his brilliant batting skills, a time he will cherish for the rest of his life. No one would have imagined that a player at 30, an age deemed to be the end of most player’s career, would be the beginning of a fairy tale for Suryakumar Yadav. In his short career, Surya has grabbed the top spot in T20I cricket with a rating of 861 points and averages 45.55 in 60 matches at a staggering strike rate of around 172. Surya has smashed four T20I hundreds in his four years of International Cricket and that shows how authoritative he has been on the cricket field. The potential was always there and the performances at the big stage has done justice to his potential and talent.
Suryakumar Yadav will remain a vital cog in the Indian line up in the upcoming T20 World Cup and his contributions at the top of the order would set the tone for other Indian batters to come and build upon.
