World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir's social media post for premier India batter Suryakumar Yadav after his stunning hundred against Sri Lanka on Saturday angered a section of fans on Twitter.
During the weekend, Surya produced one of the greatest T20I knocks in the history of the game as he smashed an unbeaten 112 off 51 balls, including 9 sixes and 7 boundaries to power India to a mammoth total of 228/5.
In a masterful exhibition of 360-degree batting at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium, Surya took the Sri Lankan bowling apart and appeared like toying with their bowlers, who seemed to have no clue whatsoever about how to stop the carnage.
It was the middle-order batter's third ton in T20Is in seven months since he struck his maiden hundred against England in July. With his century against Sri Lanka, Suryakumar Yadav became the first non-opener in the history of T20Is to hit three hundreds.
In the process, SKY also became the quickest to complete 1,500 runs in the sport's shortest format.
In 45 T20Is so far, the 32-year-old cricketer has made 1,578 runs with a highly impressive average of 46.41 and a stunning strike rate of 180.34. During his brief career for India, Suryakumar Yadav has already smashed three centuries and 13 fifties.
Suryakumar Yadav's majestic display left many former cricketers in awe. But it was a tweet from Gautam Gambhir which ignited an intense debate on Twitter. The cricketer-turned-pundit put his weight behind Surya's inclusion in India's Test side.
“What a knock @surya_14kumar! Time to put him in test cricket! #SKYscraper,” Gautam Gambhir wrote on the microblogging platform.
Gautam Gambhir's views about Suryakumar Yadav getting a spot in the national Test team, however, were not much appreciated by cricket admirers.
While some reckoned that the advice could spoil Suryakumar Yadav's T20 game, others opined it wasn't a good idea as he was already 32.
Sarfraz Khan should improve his T20 game and play well in IPL rather than performing well in first class to get into test team..
Gambhir and logical statement, both are wide apart— Guru (@okguru_) January 8, 2023
Are Sir, kuch bhi bolte ho aap. Let him score and own T20I as of now.
There is no place in the test team.
— Aditya (@Adityakrsaha) January 7, 2023
I think SKY should just stick to T20s and ODIs. Considering he’s already 32yrs old, why burden him with too much cricket and force him to play Test at this stage. He could win us World Cups in limited overs!
— Chaitanya Iyengar (@CIyengar) January 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/Virat_spare/status/1611781979791577089
This is the problem. If we see one player excelling in one format, we want them to play all formats.
— 1D_lovebot 👑 Vk18 (@hazzaisrockstar) January 8, 2023
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav was ecstatic with his performance against the Dasun Shanaka-led side before adding that he was enjoying his batting right now.
“I'm really happy with the way the innings went. The captain winning the toss and batting first showed faith in the batters, few shots are pre-determined, but these are the shots I've been playing over the last year and I'm not doing anything different,” Suryakumar Yadav told Star Sports, the official broadcaster of India's series against Sri Lanka.
“The 2022 form is gone, it's a fresh start in 2023 and I hope to continue doing well. It's a good pitch, nice bounce and a lush outfield,” Suryakumar Yadav added.
“It is really important to put pressure on yourself when you are preparing for the game. The more pressure you put, the better you can play. There is a lot of hard work involved. Some quality practice sessions are also involved. The boundaries behind were 59-60m, so I tried to clear them. There are a few shots that are pre-determined but you have to be ready for other strokes as well. Most of the time, I try to find the gap, and use the field to my advantage, Dravid lets me enjoy, and tells me to express myself,” SKY explained.
However, former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria reserved the ultimate praise for Suryakumar Yadav as he claimed that legends like Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers look pale in front of him and he's the true “Universe Boss” at the moment. Universe Boss is an epithet used for Chris Gayle after he gained popularity for his ultra-aggressive approach in T20s.
“The new Universe Boss is Suryakumar Yadav-the beast. Now what can I tell about this lad, even before I have said that a player like Suryakumar comes once in a lifetime. The innings which he played today, scoring 112 off 51, no one can replicate that. You can speak about ABD, Chris Gayle but even these two look pale in front of Surya. He has already eclipsed them and has taken T20 cricket to a whole new level,” Danish Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.
Another former cricketer who was lost for words after watching Surya's insane knock during the weekend was Aakash Chopra.
“It seems like it is Suryakumar Yadav’s world, and you and I are living in it. He has struck his third T20I century. Who did he not hit and from where all have praises not come? When he plays, it is wonderful, incredible, amazing and unparalleled, and makes the match one-sided,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Suryakumar Yadav is playing differently. There are purple patches, this is the deepest shade of purple. Who struck the first century for India in 2023 – Suryakumar Yadav. He has struck three centuries,” Aakash Chopra added.
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