Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris heaped praise on Suryakumar Yadav for his 360-degree batting irrespective of opposition and conditions and claimed that the batter gives Team India an X-factor that no other batter in the team can offer.
Suryakumar has been in great form with the bat, though he struggled to score much when he was moved to a new position - opening in the first two matches - but once he got used to it, the right-hander hammered a 44-ball 76 against the West Indies in the third T20I.
Hailing the Indian batter, the commentator said that Suryakumar is a headache for the opposition captain in terms of setting up a field for him as he can hit the ball all over the park.
Scott Styris said on the ‘Sports Over The Top’ show on Sports18: “It is the thing that I like to talk about the most about Suryakumar Yadav and that is his ability to hit the ball into funny areas. And that makes it incredibly difficult for the opposition captains to have to defend the field. He can hit 360 degrees. He is not traditional. It is not always over long on or over long off. It’s really over extra cover, fine leg against pace bowlers, which means that he’s got so many options.”
He added, “And when that’s the case, he provides that little X factor in terms of something different to the other batsman around him, doesn’t always have to be left-hand or right-hand. It can be what areas of the ground and what types of bowling you really do succeed against. It is one of the strengths he has.”
Well, Suryakumar was promoted to the top order because Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were not part of the squad, but once they return, the batter might have to drop down to the number four batting position.
Explain how seniority will play a role in this case, Styris said: “Well, very good players are usually very good, no matter at what position you put them in. So, no, I am not surprised that he has made a great fist of opening the batting, but what a problem to have. I am incredibly jealous and envious of India’s issues at the moment.”
He signed off by saying, “This is a first-world problem. Should he open? Should he be at three? How tough is it for you guys to go right now? But yeah, I think you might see some seniority step in here and maybe that means SKY might be down at number four.”
