West Indies legend Chris Gayle has heaped praise on India’s T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, hailing him as a ‘phenomenal player’ with a bright future.

In the absence of injured Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar recently captained the young Indian team to a T20I series win over Australia at home. He will continue to lead the T20I side on the tour of South Africa, starting on December 10 in Durban.

Surya is widely regarded as one of the best betters in the shortest format. He holds the No. 1 position in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings for quite a while now.

Speaking to Star Sports, Gayle explained what makes Suryakumar Yadav so successful and why the bowlers find it tough to bowl to him.

“I don’t know how to describe that, he’s just phenomenal. [He hits] pretty much all around the ground, fantastic. Good strike rate, good player. Like I said, [he has a] bright future as well. I know he pretty much just started but down the road, consistency is going to be even more key for a player like SKY. He’s got phenomenal talent, you know, unbelievable talent,” Gayle said.

“You just don’t know how to describe it. I am sure bowlers also try to pinpoint how to bowl to him because he’s so, you know, like a 360 [degree] player as well. It is going to be difficult for bowlers to work him, to decide which areas to [bowl to] try and cramp him out. Like I said, he’s just phenomenal,” he added.

Suryakumar Yadav has represented India in 58 T20Is so far, amassing 1985 runs at an average of 44.11 and a remarkable strike rate of 171.71, including three hundreds and 16 half-centuries.