'We can’t think about India without him' - Kapil Dev lavishes massive praise on Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav, India's star middle-order batsman, has received appreciation from former India captain Kapil Dev, who asserted that Yadav's performance compelled people to talk about him and his game. Over the past year, Suryakumar has grown to be a crucial component of India's limited-overs system.

His addition has resolved India's problems at position 4, where they had been having trouble for a few years. The Men in Blue severely failed in the 2021 T20 WC, as they batted cautiously and mainly relied on their top three players- KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. They also dropped out on both the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 ODI World Cup due to their overdependence on the top 3.

The rise of Suryakumar, particularly in the T20I format, has enabled India to adopt a bold approach with the bat. At a promotional event, the former World Cup-winning skipper remarked that no one anticipated that Yadav would have such a significant influence, but he used his talent to make the entire world talk about him.

“No one ever thought about Yadav being an impact player in the future, but he did great with his batting and forced the world to talk about him. Now, we can’t think about India without him. Having a batter like Suryakumar in the team in the company of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul, a team automatically becomes strong,” said Dev.

Opportunity for Suryakumar Yadav to become No. 1 T20I batter

According to the ICC rankings announced last week, Suryakumar started the T20 World Cup 2022 as the second-ranked batter in T20Is, just below Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan. The other notable Indian names in the Top 20 are captain Rohit Sharma (16), KL Rahul (13), and Virat Kohli (15). Amongst Indian players, Suryakumar Yadav is the highest ranked currently.

The 32-year-old's T20 WC campaign did not get off to a good start as he was dismissed cheaply in the game against Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground. However, India won the match by four wickets on the last ball thanks to a standout performance by Virat Kohli. India will be up against the Netherlands next on October 27, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

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