At the moment, Suryakumar Yadav is the closest we’re ever gonna see to AB De Villiers: Kobus Olivier

Suryakumar Yadav’s meteoric rise is definitely one for the books. In just a few months in international cricket, the 32-year-old earned his spot as the number one ICC-ranked T20I batter and on Sunday, November 6, his blistering form helped him score more than 1000 T20I runs in a single calendar year. Against Zimbabwe, the flamboyant batter smashed 61* off 25 deliveries and played some incredible shots all over the ground, which really impressed the former South Africa international Kobus Olivier.

The former cricketer compared Suryakumar with the legend AB de Villiers and explained how no plans really work against the talisman. Yadav has become a 360-degree player at the moment and managed to help India in multiple crunch situations so far in his short international career.

“I hate to compare players but at the moment he probably is the closest we are ever gonna see to AB De Villiers. He is a 360 Degree player and it is almost impossible (to stop him). Do you bowl fast balls, outside off, or short - it doesn’t matter where you ball, it’s going to fence. He is in the form of his life at the moment. Some of the shots he is playing is outrageous. That’s just confidence,” said Kobus on BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker.

Suryakumar Yadav is in a league of his own: Kobus Olivier

With 225 runs from five matches, Suryakumar Yadav is now the third leading run-scorer of the T20 World Cup 2022. He has played an instrumental role in India’s success so far and along with former India captain Virat Kohli, he has been the pillar of India’s batting unit. With a strike rate of 193.96, the middle-order batter decimated most of his opponents and also has the highest strike rate among the top 50 run-getters in the marquee tournament. Thus, Kobus Olivier believes that the player is in a league of his own because of the way he plays.

“The wickets in Australia are fantastic for this World Cup. With the ball coming onto the bat, it allows batsman to play those kinds of shots but at the moment, he (Suryakumar Yadav) really is in a league of his own because of the kind of shots he play,” Kobus said in the same show.

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