Suryakumar Yadav had a forgettable ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, but he made a memorable captaincy debut in international cricket in the first T20I between India and Australia in Vizag on November 23.

The right-hander could manage only 106 runs in the recent ODI World Cup 2023, but he didn’t take time to storm back into his dangerous mode in T20I cricket.

Suryakumar led the Men in Blue from the front during their 2-wicket win over Australia in the first T20I of the five-match series. He played a remarkable knock of 80 runs off just 42 balls, laced with nine fours and four sixes, to lead Team India to a successful chase of a target of 209 runs against Australia.

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra lauded Suryakumar and said that he plays with freedom in the T20Is, and that’s why he is so dangerous in this format.

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Aakash Chopra said on Jio Cinema: “He is a 360-degree kind of player who comes in with a reputation that makes bowlers think differently. Plan differently, have rather strange field positions because he makes you do that.”

He added, “He plays with freedom in the shortest format, and the pitch that was there was for him to exploit because this is the kind of surface you get 9 out of 10 times in T20Is. He comes into his own when he is batting in this format and therefore, you always saw that there was a deep fine leg in, there was a mid-on fielder inside the circle.”

Chopra signed off by saying, “You need those different field positions even though your plans are very different. You can think of bowling a back-of-the-hand slower one, but even while doing so, he can hit you over fine leg for a six. Then he hits you straight.”

Notably, India will now face Australia in the second T20I on November 26 in Thiruvananthapuram.

(With Jio Cinema Inputs/India Today)