Even though India’s skipper for the South Africa T20I series, Suryakumar Yadav was a late bloomer of sorts — making his debut in 2021 — soon he established himself as one of the best players in the format. His numbers speak volumes of the impact he has had in T20Is. But former India batsman Aakash Chopra has not gone a step ahead and said that Surya will be called the greatest T20 format player soon.
On Thursday, Surya, while leading India to a win over South Africa in the third T20I at Johannesburg, slammed 100 from 56 balls. He is the joint-highest ton-scorer in T20Is, along with Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell — four.
“If Surya keeps on playing like this, then it is only a matter of one or two years, that you have to declare that he is the greatest in the T20 format,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra also touched upon Surya’s innings in the World Cup final, and how it should not be mixed with his performances now.
“Team India rarely loses do-or-die matches. I was reading that as soon as you start praising someone, it reminds them of November 19. Even in the third T20I, it was kind of the same after Surya’s performance. So, for that I have to say, clinging onto the past at the expense of losing the present is not worth it. The formats were different, and it was not Surya alone that was out in the final. When he is scoring runs now, I think it is unfair to ask why did he not score in the final,” Chopra added.
“All of Surya’s T20I hundreds have come in different countries. So, you cannot even say that he is a flat-track bully or a stat padder. India won the third T20I because of him. Jaiswal also played really well at the top. He is really making a statement to be part of the team across formats,” Chopra said.
