Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has stated that Suryakumar Yadav is a completely different class as compared to Shreyas Iyer.
Suryakumar Yadav has made an impressive start to his international career and he has done a fine job while batting in the middle order.
The right-hander from Mumbai has the skills to hit the ground running and he plays proper cricketing shots to get his runs. SKY can find the gaps at will and he has played some fine knocks for five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer last played for India in the limited-overs series against England and was ruled out due to a shoulder injury.
Iyer has been a consistent performer in limited-overs format for India in the last couple of years but he was a tad unlucky to miss out on the T20 World Cup squad. Iyer is part of the standby players along with Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.
Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports Follow the Blues, “Suryakumar Yadav is a completely different class as compared to Shreyas Iyer. He is much more versatile. He is much more unorthodox as well and in T20 cricket you want people who are unorthodox.”
“You want people who can hit that ball in different areas. He can lap you, he can late cut you, he can hit you over extra cover, he has got all the shots, especially at No.4.”
Meanwhile, the former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir feels Suryakumar Yadav can play according to the match situation. Gambhir added that the right-hander can steady the ship when the chips are down while he can also play aggressively if the team is in a commanding position.
“Sometimes, No.4 is the most tricky position to bat in T20 cricket. Probably the easiest is the top three but No.4, sometimes you might be in when you have lost two early wickets and sometimes you come into the middle when you are 120/2 and then you have got to continue with that momentum. So, Surya has got both kinds of game which probably Shreyas Iyer doesn’t have.”
“You have also got to be mindful that he is coming off a serious injury and you never know what kind of a form he would be in the second leg of the IPL as well. So, they have gone with someone who has done really well since he has got into international cricket.”
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai.
