He might have been humble and downplaying his importance in India’s T20 squad, but he cannot expect anyone to believe that his place in the playing XI is remotely questionable.
Suryakumar made his international debut in March last year. After just 18 months and 34 T20 Internationals, he has become the most valuable batsman, if not a player, in the 15-man squad that began their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on Sunday.
Mind you, this squad has established superstar batsmen like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Apart from this, there are young contenders for the superstar tag – KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. And a veteran in Dinesh Karthik, who has revamped his batting to suit the role of a finisher.
In these 18 months, Suryakumar has climbed to No. 2 in the ICC Men’s T20 Rankings, scoring 1045 runs (third highest) at an incredible strike rate of 176.81 – among the best* batsmen in the world since his debut. Has faced less than 200 balls. (*16 teams are participating in the T20 World Cup in Australia.)
While these numbers alone should be enough to establish his credentials as one of the best T20 batsmen in the world, the way he manages to score his runs at that pace is nothing short of a spectacle and it will further prove his worth. Adds to the aura as one of the most innovative batsmen of his time.
He is often compared, somewhat appropriately, to the great AB de Villiers for his ability to score runs in areas that are difficult for most batsmen to access. This special ability makes him the most unique Indian batsman. No one in India, regular, or irregular, bats as innovatively as Suryakumar.
He is clearly good at playing traditional shots like drives and square cuts. But nowadays with data analytics available for every team, most bowlers can find ways to stop or at least score runs. In T20 cricket where the balls are intimidating, the batsmen need to constantly find new ways to gain the edge. Suryakumar gains that edge by exploiting rare angles that open up otherwise inaccessible areas.
He takes advantage of the leg side to go with a Natraj swipe over fine leg, a pick-up flick over deep square leg, and a wrist whip over-the-line slog and a down pitch pick-up shot. On the off-side, he plays an over-the-wicketkeeper ramp shot, square cuts on either side of the point fielder and a lofted drive over extra cover. He also once played an open-blade drive at backward point for a six. As a bowler, what do you plan for a batsman who has so many ways to score runs?
Another thing that sets Suryakumar apart from other top-order Indian batsmen is that he does not take time to settle down before playing big shots. He almost always gets a boundary facing the first five balls. Remember how he hit his famous Natraj for a six off his first ball in T20 International cricket off Jofra Archer. This is how he works.
The only chime in his armor is his inexperience playing in Australia. Head coach Rahul Dravid mentioned this during the press conference after the T20 series against South Africa. “Australia are quite unique in terms of pace and bounce on those wickets and many of our players haven’t played much T20 cricket in Australia,” Dravid said.
However, Suryakumar showed during India’s tour of England earlier this year that he can adapt his game quickly to suit the conditions.
To their credit, the Indian team management ensured that the players got extra time to adapt to the conditions by arriving in Australia a few days ahead of schedule and arranged for some extra practice games. Early on, it seems that Suryakumar has taken to the Australian conditions like a fish in the water. He has scored two half-centuries in two matches so far.
In his current form, Suryakumar’s versatility, adaptability and innovation make him a central pillar of India’s batting in the T20 World Cup. India knows that when it goes ahead, SKY has its limits.
