3 reasons why Suryakumar Yadav is Virat Kohli's perfect heir in T20Is

Suryakumar Yadav is in the form of his life at the moment.

The Team India star was already having an incredible year in T20Is and raised the bar further on Sunday, November 20. Yadav recorded his second T20I hundred against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. He scored 111 runs off just 51 balls against the Kiwis as India won by a handsome margin.

The specialty of this knock was that he walked out to bat at the No. 3 position, with Virat Kohli being rested. Kohli was so happy with the knock that he claimed that Yadav was the No.1 batter in the world at the time. Here's what he tweeted about his teammate:

"Numero Uno showing why he's the best in the world. Didn't watch it live but I'm sure this was another video game innings by him."

Needless to say, after what Virat Kohli has achieved of late, he will continue to be India's No. 3 in T20Is in the immediate future. However, if the selectors want to move on in the shortest format, here are three reasons why Suryakumar Yadav should become India's permanent No. 3:

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#3 Ability to absorb pressure

In his short career so far, there have been numerous incredible knocks from Suryakumar Yadav to rescue his team from precarious situations. Be it his hundred against England at Trent Bridge, or his incredible 68 against South Africa in the T20 World Cup, Yadav has always been up to the challenge.

He has also shown that he's not a one-trick pony and has incredible adaptability and versatility. The right-hander has built crucial partnerships and proved that he has the game sense needed to take the innings deep and attack once the platform is set.

This is very similar to what Virat Kohli does expertly when he is in form.

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#2 Knowing when to shift gears

Suryakumar Yadav's innings against New Zealand showed that he also has the ability to understand which bowler to target and when to change the tempo. This is one of the main reasons why he has been able to score a truckload of runs while maintaining an incredibly high strike rate at the same time.

Yadav often looks to cash in on an over if it begins with a boundary. This is unlike most batters, who would also like to focus on strike rotation, having gotten the required runs early in the over.

He has shown that he understands when the bowler is under pressure and tries to force them into mistakes to maximize the boundary output.

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#1 Genuine match-winner

The biggest point that supports the argument of Suryakumar Yadav being India's next No. 3 is that the position is not alien to him. The 32-year-old has been performing incredibly well for the Mumbai Indians in that position and has become a fulcrum of their batting.

Although SKY can do the job at No. 4 as well, batting him higher would mean that he could have the opportunity to face at least 40-50 balls. These many deliveries will be more than enough for him to win games single-handedly for the Men in Blue.

If India are looking for a fresh rebuild for the 2024 T20 World Cup, the No. 3 spot should undoubtedly be Suryakumar Yadav's for the taking.