Former England batter Nasser Hussain has named India’s Suryakumar Yadav as a ‘freakish talent’, who justifies the tag of a 360-degree player as well. Yadav, who made his international debut in March 2021, becomes England’s biggest threat before the semifinal clash in Adelaide on Thursday. The veteran has been in red-hot form and also has a T20I hundred against England, which he scored this year in Nottingham as well.
In his column for the Daily Mail, he wrote: “SKY is a freakish talent. The term ‘a 360 degree player’ can be overused, but it is true in his case. He hits balls from outside off-stump over deep square leg for six. He has wrists and levers that strike the ball in incredibly unusual areas. And he has power, bat speed and all the things a modern white ball player needs. It is hard to find any weakness, but his record against slow left-arm spin is the only thing that doesn’t really stand out.”
Meanwhile, Nasser Hussain also applauded Virat Kohli’s heroics against Pakistan in Melbourne and loved how he paced his innings as well.
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He continued, “India’s dynamism will come at three and four where Virat Kohli is still the master and now has a considerable apprentice in SKY. I don’t think I have ever seen a better white ball innings than the one Kohli played against Pakistan in the group stage at Melbourne. The way he paced his innings as well as some of the shots he played at the end – like hitting Haris Rauf straight back over his head for six – were remarkable.”
However, Virat Kohli, the tournament’s leading run-getter, opened with a 52-ball 82 against Pakistan as India secured a thrilling win in Melbourne. Chasing 160 for victory, Team India’s top order collapsed before he steered them over the line. Hussain praised Kohli for his determination to succeed as well. Notably, he has scored two fifties in as many games at the venue, scoring 154 runs and striking at 155.56 as well.
“Kohli always seems to get the job done. He is such a street fighter. He loves the combat, and he loves the battle. The way he works the situation, knowing when to sit in and when to go, is phenomenal, and he has a love affair with the Adelaide Oval.”
However, he has warned Jos Buttler and Alex Hales against India’s new-ball bowlers. Hussain also highlighted that India’s spin-bowling department could trouble England. India’s new-ball bowling pair of Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been doing well.
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“As for India’s bowling, Arshdeep Singh has been brilliant with the new ball and gives India that left-arm variation while the clash between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jos Buttler and Alex Hales at the top will be key. They both have to be wary of the inswinger, if the ball moves. Then there is the spin threat of Axar Patel and Ravi Ashwin while India might also consider the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal unless they fear it weakens their lower order. I don’t know yet whether the semi-final will be on another used pitch but England’s playing of spin here has not been the greatest and they will have to be better against India,” Nasser Hussain concluded.
