India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has been a beast in the shortest-format given his wide array of strokeplay. He has often been compared to former Proteas great Mr.360 AB de Villiers.
Now, in a recent internet podcast, SKY opened up that he had never gotten a chance to properly interact with de Villiers. When quizzed what he would ask if he got the chance, SKY revealed that he would ask insights on how to balance T20s and 50-over format since AB has dominated both during his playing days.
For context, while SKY leads the T20I side, he is not in the scheme of things in ODIs. However, with the next ODI World Cup just a little more than a year away, it is clear that he wants to break into the 50-over setup as well.
Speaking on the Vimal Kumar podcast, Surya said, “If I meet him soon, then I want to ask him how did he balance his T20I and ODI game? I want to ask him what did he do to be successful in both formats. AB, if you are listening to this, please get in touch with me quickly because there are important three-four years for me ahead and I’m very keen on playing ODI cricket also.”
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In the shortest format of the games, SKY has 2746 runs at an average over 36 while hitting at an impressive rate of 164.20 including four tons and 21 fifties. Coming to ODIs, his average drops to 25.76 in 35 innings, with no century and only four fifties.
There is a stark contrast in the numbers across the two formats but SKY remains motivated to better them.
Furthermore, he is currently 35-years-old and the upcoming two World Cups (2026 T20 WC and the 2027 ODI WC) could be his last chance to lift an ICC trophy. While he will be leading the T20I side next year at the ICC event which will be co-hosted by India, any words of advice from AB de Villiers can do SKY wonders as he sets his sights on the 50-over mega-event too which will be held in South Africa in 2027.
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