IND vs SL: "I Don't Have Words For The Way He Has Batted; I Can Say One Thing For Sure He Should Be Included In The Test Team"- Gautam Gambhir On Suryakumar Yadav

Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav scored his third century of his T20I career against Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I of the three-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Saturday, January 7. Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir praised Suryakumar Yadav and said he was lost for words to describe the latter’s knock.

Suryakumar smashed an unbeaten 112 off just 51 balls with the help of seven fours and nine sixes and became the second-fastest century scorer in T20 for India. The Men in Blue posted a mammoth total of 228 runs and restricted the opposition team to 137 runs. The Hardik Pandya-led team registered a comprehensive 91-run win in the series decider and clinched the series 2-1.

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I Don’t Have Words For The Way He Has Batted – Gautam Gambhir

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir praised Suryakumar Yadav’s knock and said that he did not play any risky shots.

“I don’t have words for the way he has batted. I can say one thing for sure – he should be included in the Test team, the sort of player he is. He didn’t play any shots where he took a risk,” Gautam Gambhir said

Suryakumar Is India’s Most Valuable Batter In T20 Cricket – Gautam Gambhir

The former Indian opener said that Suryakumar has all shots in his arsenal and is very consistent while playing those shots. The southpaw said that the 32-year-old is India’s most valuable batter in T20 cricket despite not having the luxury of batting in the power play.

“All these shots are in his armory. Many players, when they play the lap, you feel whether they will be able to play it or not. It is all his natural ability and to convert that into that consistency that Suryakumar Yadav has done.”

“We all need to remember that the entire knock was played after the powerplay. You can imagine at what strike rate he has batted after the powerplay, so he is India’s most valuable batter in T20 cricket.”

Need A Lot Of Mental Toughness To Premeditate Those Shots – Gautam Gambhir

The cricketer-turned-commentator cited Suryakumar Yadav’s six off Jofra Archer’s bowling on his T20I debut, saying that players require a lot of mental toughness to play premeditated lap shots. The left-handed batter said that the Mumbai batter not only plays the lap shot but also scores runs everywhere around the ground.

“The first thing is that you need a lot of mental toughness to premeditate those shots. You need to have the skill as you can be hit by the ball at times. He has not done it against these bowlers only. I remember the six he hit off Jofra Archer, who bowls at more than 145 kph, in Ahmedabad on his T20I debut.”

“Anyone can play the lap, everyone practices it as well but to have the mental toughness to play against a pace of more than 145 kph. A lot of players play this shot because they don’t have the ability to hit over mid-off but the range you have seen from extra cover to fine leg, what more range can you see from a player’s bat?”

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Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah