NEW DELHI: Suryakumar Yadav has evolved into the new Mr 360 degree and India will struggle to put up enough runs on the board if he fails to fire, says batting great Sunil Gavaskar.
Suryakumar, the world’s number one T20 batter at the moment, has dazzled in his maiden T20 World Cup, playing scintillating innings in the Super 12 stage to help India reach the semifinals of the marquee event.
Against Zimbabwe, he smashed an unbeaten 61 off 25, sending the ball to every corner of the field.
“Each of those innings was pretty much 360 degrees. He is the new Mr. 360 degree. There was that one shot that he hit for a six just to the left of the wicketkeeper. Then he went a little squarer in the final overs, for example, taking advantage of the angle that the bowler was trying to aim at.
“Then also the lofted extra cover drive, he has got every shot in the book. There was a straight drive as well,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying on India Today.
The former India captain feels Suryakumar is the reason India has succeeded in scoring totals they could defend.
“He is actually turning out to be the player who is taking India to totals which you can defend. The score India got was the highest T20I score at the MCG. Without his 61 not out, India would not have reached even 150,” he stated.
The under-fire Rahul returned to form with back-to-back half centuries in India’s last two games against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Gavaskar said if Suryakumar fails Rahul will need to take charge.
“I think at the moment, there are two batters who are in prime form, Kohli and Suryakumar. It was also good to see KL Rahul get yet another half-century, but he has to look to get more than that for a simple reason.
“If Surya doesn’t fire, then India will struggle to get 140-150. It’s therefore very important for Rahul to keep going,” Gavaskar added.
—PTI

Press Trust of India