Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody has praised World No. 1 T20I batsman Suryakumar Yadav and his breathtaking batting. Moody compared the flamboyant batsman to the legendary West Indies cricketer Mr. Vivian Richards. Suryakumar, who made his debut for India in 2021, has risen to prominence in world cricket after consistent match-winning performances.
The Indian batsman’s unique ability to hit boundaries in all parts of the ground sets him apart as a special talent in the shortest format of the game. He was appointed as India’s vice-captain in the shortest format of the game against Sri Lanka, and has retained the spot for the team’s upcoming T20I match against New Zealand later this month. Suryakumar also received his first Test call-up for the upcoming series against Australia.
During the T20 World Cup, Suryakumar Yadav surpassed Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam to reach the number one spot in the rankings for T20I batsmen and inched closer to the highest individual ICC rating point in the history of T20I cricket.
During a recent conversation with Sports Tak, Tom Moody said, “Suryakumar Yadav. The way he plays, it’s captivating. It reminds me a lot… of Vivian Richards when I was a young cricketer. The player who seems to be controlling the game single-handedly.
Suryakumar, who was the leading run-scorer in 2022 (1164 in 31 T20I innings), scored his maiden T20I century against England in Nottingham last July. He then scored his second century, scoring an unbeaten 111 off 51 balls during India’s limited-overs tour of New Zealand in November, and his third T20 century in the recently concluded home series against Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar is one of only five batsmen in the history of T20Is to score three or more centuries. Rohit Sharma has the most centuries with four, followed by Suryakumar, Glenn Maxwell (3), Colin Munro (3), and Sabawoon Devizzi (3). (3). Suryakumar is also the only batsman along with Maxwell to score T20I centuries in three different countries.
