IPL 2020: 'Suryakumar Yadav is the Indian AB de Villiers' - Harbhajan Singh

Chennai Super Kings off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has opined that Suryakumar Yadav is the Indian equivalent of AB de Villiers. He reasoned that the Mumbai Indians batsman possesses strokes all around the dial just like his South African counterpart.

Harbhajan Singh made this observation during a discussion on Star Sports regarding the impact Suryakumar Yadav had on the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020.

India's third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav shouldered the responsibility of being one of the key cogs in the Mumbai Indians batting lineup rather than just being a game-changer.

"There is no doubt that Suryakumar Yadav has transformed himself from being the game-changer to a primary match-winner for the Mumbai Indians. He had taken up a lot of responsibility of their batting."

The former Mumbai Indians player also highlighted that Suryakumar Yadav took the attack to the opposition from the word go and was not content in just rotating the strike.

"And it is not that he plays at the strike rate of 100, if you see his strike rate, he starts hitting from the first ball itself."

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Harbhajan Singh on the variety of strokes in Suryakumar Yadav's arsenal

Suryakumar Yadav has an all-round game as a batsman [P/C: iplt20.com]

Harbhajan Singh observed that it is difficult for bowlers to keep Suryakumar Yadav in check as he possesses shots all around the cricket field, and even called him the Indian version of AB de Villiers.

"It is difficult to stop him as he has all types of shots. He hits overs covers, plays the sweep also well, plays spin very well, plays fast bowling amazingly well. He is the Indian AB de Villiers."

Suryakumar Yadav is as good a player of Spin as anybody in the world right now ... #IPL2020

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 5, 2020

The Turbanator opined that the Mumbaikar should have been included in the Indian team for the tour of Australia while adding that his turn will come soon.

"I feel he should have been selected for the Indian team. It didn't happen but he is not far away. He is an unbelievable player. The sort of batting Suryakumar Yadav has done, he has attracted everyone towards him."

Harbhajan Singh signed off by stating that Suryakumar Yadav is in the league of the biggest match-winners in the Mumbai Indians lineup such as Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. The 40-year-old highlighted the right-handed batsman's impact in the last three editions of the IPL.

"We talk about Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard, that they are match-winners but don't forget that this year or last year or even the year prior to that, Suryakumar Yadav has made a big contribution for the Mumbai Indians. He has left a huge impression."

Suryakumar Yadav is the highest run-scorer for the Mumbai Indians if we consider only the last three editions of the IPL. The Mumbaikar has amassed 1416 runs in this period, and played a significant role in the franchise's title triumphs in 2019 and 2020.