Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has applauded Suryakumar Yadav for virtually taking on bowlers in the first T20I against Australia. He added that the Indian captain’s one unorthodox shot forces the bowlers to alter their plans and fall into his trap as well.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Chopra said, “When the runs come in that area, the story becomes easy. To be fair, the kind of pitch this was or the Australian pitches will be, this shot becomes more productive. He has to hit one shot, and then the bowler goes off plan, that where should he bowl next, that he has to do something else, and then you walk into a trap where Suryakumar Yadav hits you a lot.”

“The expectation is that this is just the start. The power he generates while taking the bat upwards from below is a rare skill. He has an incredible quality. You are praiseworthy if you can consistently score runs despite playing risky shots, and that’s why he has reigned in the T20 format for a long time,” Chopra shared.

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However, Aakash Chopra was also asked about the importance of Suryakumar Yadav’s knock, considering his poor performances in T20Is this year as well.

“He needed to score runs. You are the captain of a winning team and you have a lot of experience and pedigree as well, so there weren’t any question marks as such, but there are murmurs at times. When you go to the ground with a bat in hand, you are a batter first and a captain later,” he said.

“He has the unique skill of forcing the bowlers to bowl where he wants. However, scoring runs was imperative because when a captain scores runs, his decision-making ability remains at the top. Then you don’t think about anything else and can do things instinctively. It was important for the captain to be seen in his Surya avatar,” Aakash Chopra concluded.