Cricket experts and fans often compare Suryakumar Yadav with AB de Villiers for his ability to play shots 360-degree on the ground, but former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels Suryakumar Yadav doesn't possess the power De Villiers had when it comes to big hitting.
He further said that the Proteas legend is far superior in many ways to Suryakumar, and one of them is hitting power. Pathan said that Suryakumar Yadav cannot be compared to Ab de Villiers.
His comments came after the right-hander smashed 51 runs off 36 balls in the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Pune on Thursday (January 5).
Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports: “It is very difficult to compare. You cannot compare with AB de Villiers as well because I feel AB de Villiers had more power. He was ahead of Suryakumar Yadav when you talk about hitting over long-off or overs the covers consistently.”
However, Pathan said that he can compare Suryakumar with England captain Jos Buttler and can definitely say that the Indian batter has a bigger range than the wicketkeeper.
He added, “If we talk about Jos Buttler, he has comparatively much more power, if you talk about range hitting. But if you talk about the range, Suryakumar Yadav has a bigger one - he can play the cut, hit over covers, mid-wicket, and play the sweep.”
Meanwhile, the former Indian all-rounder said that Suryakumar is the best option to bat at number four and team India wouldn’t find better batter in the middle overs. Pathan said, “He has two types of sweeps as well - he hits both behind and in front of the wickets. So, considering that, he might have less power but a bigger range. You won't get a batter like him to play in the middle overs.”
He signed off by saying, “That is why I was saying in the last match as well that he shouldn't bat at No. 3. No. 4 is the right position for him because he comes there and starts playing the big shots against the spinners right from the start, shows his range and keeps the strike rate up. You won't get a better batter than him at No. 4 in world cricket.”
