Harbhajan Singh, Chennai Super Kings off-spinner has opined that batsman Suryakumar Yadav is the Indian equivalent to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) AB de Villiers who is a former South African batsman. He reasoned that the Mumbai Indians batsman possesses strokes just like his South African counterpart.
Harbhajan Singh made this observation during a discussion on Star Sports regarding the impact Suryakumar Yadav had on the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020.
Harbhajan Singh: Suryakumar Yadav Undoubtedly Transformed To A Match Winner
5th highest wicket-taker in IPL history Harbhajan Singh who has 417 Tests and 269 ODI wickets pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav shouldered the responsibility of being one of the key vital members in the Mumbai Indians batting lineup rather than just being a game-changer.
“There is no doubt that Suryakumar Yadav has transformed himself from being the game-changer to a primary match-winner for the Mumbai Indians. He had taken up a lot of responsibility of their batting.”
The former Mumbai Indians player also highlighted that Suryakumar Yadav took the attack to the opposition from the onset and was not content in just rotating the strike.
“And it is not that he plays at the strike rate of 100, if you see his strike rate, he starts hitting from the first ball itself.” said Harbhajan Singh on the variety of strokes in Suryakumar Yadav’s arsenal
Harbhajan Singh observed that it is difficult for bowlers irrespective of spin or pace to keep Suryakumar Yadav in check as he possesses shots all around the cricket field, and even called him the Indian version of AB de Villiers.
“It is difficult to stop him as he has all types of shots. He hits overs covers, plays the sweep also well, plays spin very well, plays fast bowling amazingly well. He is the Indian AB de Villiers.”
Suryakumar Yadav played for Kolkata Knight Riders before returning back to Mumbai Indians in 2018 after having represented the franchise earlier. Incidentally, AB De Villiers had scored above 400 in the last three seasons but his best came in 2016 when he scored 687 runs averaging more than 50.
Harbhajan Singh Felt Suryakumar Yadav Should Have Been Included In Indian Team And Has Made Useful Contributions For Mumbai Indians
The Turbanator opined that the Mumbaikar batsman should have been included in the Indian team for the tour of Australia in at least T20Is while adding that his turn will come sooner rather than later as he is in form scoring more than 400 runs in each of the last 3 IPLs since 2018.
“I feel he should have been selected for the Indian team. It didn’t happen but he is not far away. He is an unbelievable player. The sort of batting Suryakumar Yadav has done, he has attracted everyone towards him,” Harbhajan Singh added.
Harbhajan Singh signed off by stating that Suryakumar Yadav is in the league of the biggest match-winners in the Mumbai Indians lineup besides the duo of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. The 40-year-old highlighted the right-handed batsman’s impact in the last three editions of the IPL where he averaged above 30 in each of them.
“We talk about Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard, that they are match-winners but don’t forget that this year or last year or even the year prior to that, Suryakumar Yadav has made a big contribution for the Mumbai Indians. He has left a huge impression.”
Suryakumar Yadav is the highest run-scorer for the Mumbai Indians considering only the last three editions of the IPL. The Mumbaikar has amassed 1416 runs in this period and played a significant role in the franchise’s title triumphs in 2019 and 2020.