'New Universe Boss': Ex-Pakistani cricketer compares Suryakumar Yadav with Chris Gayle

Team India’s star batter Suryakumar Yadav became one of the biggest talking points for the cricketing world on Saturday for amassing his third T20I century. Yadav hit an unbeaten knock of 112 runs off just 51 runs against Sri Lanka during the third T20I match at Rajkot. Courtesy of his century, India was elevated to a huge total of 228 runs in the first innings before bowling out Sri Lanka for 137 runs in the second and winning the match by 91 runs.

While the entire cricketing world rallied in their thoughts about the Indian batter’s heroic knock, a former Pakistani cricketer notably compared him to the likes of Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. Many cricket enthusiasts compared the 32-year-old Indian to the former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, mostly due to his ability to play innovative shots and reach any part of the ground. At the same time, former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has now said Suryakumar is the ‘new Universe Boss’.

"The new Universe Boss is Suryakumar Yadav-the beast"

Speaking on his Youtube channel, Danish said, “The new Universe Boss is Suryakumar Yadav-the beast. Now what can I tell about this lad, even before I have said that a player like Suryakumar comes once in a lifetime. The innings which he played today, scoring 112 off 51, no one can replicate that”.

It is pertinent to mention that even AB de Villiers had reportedly previously weighed in his thoughts on the comparison between him and the India batter. “Yes, they are [right in comparing Suryakumar with me]. The only thing he will have to concentrate on is his consistency. He will have to do this for five to ten years and then he will find himself in the golden books of cricket players”.

Meanwhile, the right-handed batter now stands second in the list of players to score the most no. of centuries in T20I cricket after Rohit Sharma. Glenn Maxwell, Colin Munro, and Sabawoon Davizi are the other cricketers to register three centuries in the format, while Rohit has hit four so far. By completing his century in just 45 balls on Saturday, Suryakumar also registered India’s second-fastest hundred in T20I cricket.