Chennai Super Kings fast bowler Akash Madhwal has picked Suryakumar Yadav as the toughest batter he has bowled to after IPL 2026. SKY is known to score his runs all around the ground and he can be a nightmare for the bowlers in the T20 format.

Madhwal recalled his time when he represented Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023 and 2024. The 32-year-old from Uttarakhand bowled in the training sessions to SKY and was often left stunned by the batter’s batting skills.

Akash Madhwal said in an interview with Sports Tak, “I bowled to SKY, Suryakumar Yadav bhaiya, in an MI practice match. So, he is too difficult. Especially in T20s, it’s very difficult. I bowled to him and I know he hit me for many sixes. I still remember those sixes. He hit me behind. He hit those unorthodox shots. For those shots, you don’t even have the field set or a delivery that works against them. But even when he plays those shots, we feel like, wow, what a shot that was.”

Madhwal also shared the dressing room with ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah during his days with Mumbai Indians. The pacer said he used to gain experience from Bumrah when they played together.

He added, “I didn’t really talk to him about bowling technique because there is a big difference between his action and mine. The effort his body puts in is a bit different. His action is a bit different from ours. So, I would just gain experience from him about what I could bowl if I were to find myself in those situations. In case I get hit for two sixes back-to-back, what can I do and how? How can I change my field settings?

“So, we talked more about the game rather than his bowling, because there are very few bowlers like him in the world, and it’s very hard to be like him. But we would talk based on his experience, like, ‘Brother, what do you think?’ If a batsman hits you for a four or a boundary on the first ball, what are your thoughts? What do you look for? How do you read the game? How do you read the conditions? These were the things we talked about,” he added.

Madhwal has scalped 23 wickets in 17 IPL matches so far.