"I could see shades of Kapil Dev in him" - Former Mumbai coach showers praise on Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has witnessed a meteoric rise in international cricket since making his Team India debut in 2021. He is currently the No.1-ranked T20I batter and also won the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year award in 2022.

The Mumbai-born cricketer amassed 1164 runs in 31 T20Is last year at an average of 46.56, with two centuries and nine fifties to his name.

Former Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni, who has seen Suryakumar grow from close quarters, recently stated that watching the latter bat gives him immense joy.

"I remember Dilip Vengsarkar first telling me about Suryakumar," Kulkarni told The Playfield Magazine. "He used to play for Dadar Union Sports Club initially. I had seen him bat in a U22 match for Mumbai. So when I became the Mumbai coach in 2011, the first thing I told the team management was that Suryakumar will be my free bird. He can play the way he wants and no one will say anything to him."

Kulkarni added that he sees shades of legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev in Suryakumar's batting and stated that the 32-year-old can single-handedly change the complexion of a game.

"I gave him the license to play his natural game because I could see shades of Kapil Dev in him," he added. "There was no better player to watch than Kapil when in full flow. Surya had an attacking game and I wanted him to continue playing that way. I always believe that every team must have a free bird who can change the complexion of the game. And for me in that team, Surya was that player."

The right-handed batter has been in fine form in 2023 as well, amassing 267 runs, including a century and a fifty in six T20Is at a strike rate of 152.57.

---

"Consistency with which he is scoring those centuries is incredible" - Suryakumar Yadav's former coach

Suryakumar Yadav has shown tremendous consistency, scoring three T20I centuries within six months. Achieving this landmark as a middle-order batter in the shortest format of the game in international cricket is no easy feat.

Praising the 32-year-old, Sulakshan Kulkarni stated that it is difficult to set any field for Suryakumar given his wide range of shots.

"That's the beauty of Suryakumar’s batting," he continued. "The centuries scored in T20s are mostly by openers. So it is very rare for a middle-order batsman to achieve it in this format. The consistency with which he is scoring those centuries is incredible. One knew sky would be the limit if he mastered those strokes because you cannot set any field for shots that he plays."

Suryakumar is currently with the Indian side in Nagpur as the Men in Blue prepare for the upcoming four-match home Test series against Australia.

---

Also Read: "I think it is not possible" - Ravichandran Ashwin on Pakistan not traveling to India for the ODI World Cup 2023