Irfan Pathan reveals one advantage Suryakumar Yadav has over AB de Villiers & Jos Buttler

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan on Thursday heaped praise on Suryakumar Yadav, saying that the middle-order batter has one advantage over AB de Villiers and Jos Buttler. Yadav is often compared to the former South Africa skipper due to his ability to play shots all across the park. He is referred to as the new Mr. 360 of world cricket. However, Pathan believes that Yadav has one skill that sets him apart from De Villiers and Buttler in terms of his hitting prowess. 

'Suryakumar Yadav has a bigger range'

Speaking on Star Sports, Pathan said Yadav has a wider range of shots than Buttler and De Villiers. However, Pathan acknowledged that Buttler and De Villiers have comparatively much more power than Yadav. Pathan pointed out that De Villiers was ahead of Yadav in terms of hitting over long-off or covers consistently, whereas Buttler is better when it comes to range hitting. Pathan said Yadav, on the other hand, Yadav has a bigger range as he can play most of the shots with ease. 

"It is very difficult to compare. You cannot compare with AB de Villiers as well because I feel AB de Villiers had more power. He was ahead of Suryakumar Yadav when you talk about hitting over long-off or over the covers consistently. If we talk about Jos Buttler, he has comparatively much more power, if you talk about range hitting. But if you talk about the range, Suryakumar Yadav has a bigger one - he can play the cut, hit over covers, mid-wicket, and play the sweep," Pathan said on Star Sports. 

Yadav played another impactful knock on Thursday as he smashed a quickfire 51 off 36 balls in the second T20I against Sri Lanka. Yadav's knock was made up of three sixes and as many boundaries, which he scored with a strike rate of 141.66. The 32-year-old was dismissed by Dilshan Madushanka in the 16th over. Despite his heroics, India lost the match by 16 runs. This was Yadav's 13th half-century in the shortest format for India. He has played 44 T20I innings and has scored 1466 runs at an average of 44.75 and with a strike rate of 177.91. 

The final match of this T20I series will be played on 8th January 2023, Sunday in Rajkot.

Image: AP