It’s been almost four and half years since we saw a certain Abraham de Villiers in international cricket for South Africa.?The right-hander?called time as a 34-year-old.?
His exit from the sport, an event indescribably sad for the die hard fan, also effectively ended the possibility of seeing the 360-degree range on the pitch.?
Or so one thought, with due respect a cricketing legend!?
But something else also happened around the same time as De Villiers' retirement that's?perhaps?gone underreported.?Interestingly, four and half years back, a certain Suryakumar Yadav, aged 27, was only getting started.
Though not yet an international, the right-hander?was making it count in the Indian Premier League.?
On the back of performances like 480 runs (16 games) at an average of 40 in the 2020 season followed by 317 runs (14 games) at a strike rate touching 145 in 2021, Suryakumar Yadav's stocks were rising in T20 white-ball cricket.
Yet, what mustn't be forgotten is that he was as close to making it to the Indian team as are the West Indies of convincing the world that they are a consistent side, considered amongst the top three.?
Amid the haunting truth at AB's not coming back, Suryakumar Yadav's batting has offered the tempting prospect of seeing pretty much- if not in entirety- those shots that left us starstruck.
His?astonishing range of strokes across all sides of the ground are today coming to the cause of Indian cricket, not just the IPL.
At the back of a batting approach that treads the thin line between jaw-dropping and risky, the?batsman has reminded all that destruction of bowlers has a cool new name.
And it's not called Abraham Benjamin de Villiers anymore; it's Suryakumar Yadav.
With shots on either side of the wicket, whether front of square, backward point or towards fine leg and over extra cover, Suryakumar Yadav is?AB de Villiers-lite. In fact, at times, he seems a hybrid of Dilshan meets De Villiers in an utterly unfazed avatar.
Comparisons be darned and cliches sidelined, in Suryakumar Yadav, India have finally got a cricketer who likes to keep his cool and isn't moved by massive mass endorsement that so often only surrounds legends: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Big batsmen, who despite serving India for such a long time, can be found struggling, perhaps nowadays of the added pressure of performing!
Suryakumar Yadav, on the other hand, is all chill.?
Not that the mild-mannered Surya didn't confess to having his heart pumping out of his chest in an IPL contest where RCB's Kohli of RCB charged at him aggressively.?
The middle order man rescues Cricket from the cliche of hype by simply being himself. He expresses himself as nonchalantly as ever by wielding the instrument of chaos: the bat.?
A cold-blooded example of this was seen during Hong Kong's recent Asia Cup T20 against India. During his unbeaten 68 off twenty six deliveries, Suryakumar Yadav occupied the crease for not even four and a half overs. But it's what he did in such a time?that made him the main headline, which is when both Kohli and Rohit were around.
Disdainfully lifting seamers over extra cover for a six and clipping effortlessly the ones shoved down the legs for monster hits, Suryakumar Yadav butchered an unsuspecting Hong Kong.
Moreover, he smiled, though not disrespectfully, when he did so. He seemed content in just chewing the gum that's now become a trademark.?
Amid the deafening sound of the Dubai international stadium, Surya seemed at ease.
Though, it's not just the valuable runs and the entertaining manner in which he scores them that make Suryakumar Yadav Indian cricket's?best find in recent times.
It's actually his game awareness that has endeared the batsman to even the biggest stars of his side in Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli.
And there could not have been a better example of this than the scenes at Trent Bridge, in Nottingham.?
The date was July 10, 2022. England, on the backfoot already in three-match T20I series, entered the game with the risk of being whitewashed.
Displaying intent and power from the word go, Malan and Livingstone lifted the Buttler-led side to a daunting 215. One saw a total that England would've been utterly confident about in the end. In reply, India began the run chase knowing well the task was huge but soon fell apart.
What is one to do when the top three, Pant, Rohit, and Virat, depart scoring 23 runs between them?
Well, not when you are Suryakumar Yadav, the man who began taking charge of a scorecard going nowhere at 31 for three in five overs.?
Only Iyer, his partner at the other end, made 28; the rest of the batters, including Jadeja, Karthik walked back one after the other with feeble contributions.
Though, on his part, Suryakumar Yadav scripted an inning so lethal in its treatment of bowlers that perhaps it'll stay in England's conscience much like the guilt of their past as dreadful colonial masters.
Reaching a fifty off just 32 deliveries and soon after, a maiden T20I ton off just forty eight deliveries- read that again- Suryakumar Yadav put the English under the hammer like few others have and few others will.
He was at Trent Bridge, the bridge between a hassled India and ultimately, an India that breathed a sigh of relief.?
His team fell seventeen runs short of the huge ask by the hosts but the manner of its recovery and the fightback lifted the spirits, and who knows, perhaps even thawt of the English fan who couldn't help but join hands in admiration.
Had India's number four not played like a pro that day, the visitors would never have come even close to tackling England.
On a balmy English afternoon, Surya engineered an Indian storm by slaying Willey, Jordan, Livingstone and Ali to all parts of the ground.
But it's important to remember Suryakumar Yadav's 117 was born out of the desire to take up responsibility, not be consumed by it.?
Some of his sixes, and he hit half a dozen that day, came in not the most conventional directions, such as long on or over mid off.
There were strokes over extra cover that?were stunning to say the least. At times, he only opened the face of the bat and angled his wrists at the right time, positioning them towards the fence where he intended the ball to reach.
In nine out of ten times, the ball did reach where Surya decided, but the English, well not so much.?
There was the exquisite sweep over fine leg for six off Livingstone. But the shot that perhaps arrested the attention of the purist, that rare species that argues well past the midnight as to why this team is not just about heroes like Kohli and Rohit but also about those who seldom get noticed, came on the second delivery of the 13th over.
As Gleeson pitched one a touch fuller but the middle, Suryakumar Yadav gently moved towards the leg stump, gently nudging the white-ball towards extra cover.
While the ball rose miles into the thin air, perhaps raising with it the expectations of a catch, it landed safely beyond the fence for a glamorous six.
It was the kind of stroke that cannot be taught in coaching manuals, let alone be schooled by coaches who prioritise technical prudence over risky strokemaking.
Think of the Wall Dravid!?Yet, the sight of head coach Rahul Dravid standing from his seat to applaud another gem from Sky that reached the skies was part incredible, part heartening, but purely magical.
And that, in essence, is what Suryakumar Yadav is about; the sort of batsman who may already have inspired countless to take the bat in a sport where the bowlers are just as important. The batsman who remains, as he should, in deep admiration of greats who offer a smile within seconds of witnessing a Sky-special: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.?
And finally, the cricketer without whom the current conception of the Indian national side cannot be imagined.?
Yes, the likes of Pant will entertain and slam the best in the game when it seems all's lost. Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik will pull off stunners when our country's top-heavy order featuring Rohit, Rahul and Virat are gone.
But you need Suryakumar Yadav to keep India in the hunt and play magician when it seems the magic show is long over.?
May that spell continue and bring India the glory that eluded it after winning the 2007 world cup. Bring on the next big challenge for after all, the 'Sky' is on our side!