T20 World Cup 2022: Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir's relationship goes way back to the Kolkata Knight Riders days in 2014 when the former India batter roped in SKY from Mumbai Indians. Surya, that time had only played one season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2013. Later on, he played four seasons with KKR and featured in 54 matches playing a role of a finisher. However, his level changed when he played for Mumbai Indians in 2018 which handed him his major for Team India as well. Following Surya's superb performances, Gambhir labeled him as KKR's 'biggest loss' a couple of years later. As of 2022, Suryakumar Yadav is the world's no.1 T20I batter in the world and is a big asset to Team India's batting lineup at the moment.
Gautam Gambhir is known for his straightforward statements and the former KKR captain deemed Suryakumar Yadav more valuable than any other batter in the T20I format because of his strike rate. Interestingly, Gambhir indirectly said Surya is more valuable at the moment than any other batter for India in the T20I format which means SKY is more valuable for Gambhir than Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul.
"Let's not give him names like 360, there's a lot of work to do. He's got loads of talent. Whether it is 360, 180 or 1 degree, it doesn't matter. He has the game. He knows what he's doing. When a traditional coach sees him he can say, 'he's got an open stance, he doesn't get behind the line' but he has been successful with what he has got. He has scored runs at first-class cricket and in every format. Hopefully, he gets a chance in Test cricket and he'll do well," Gambhir said on Star Sports.
"He (Suryakumar) might not have the best cover drive like the others (Indian batters) but he has that 180-strike rate which is much more valuable than that of the other Indian batters," Gambhir added.
Character & Conviction. pic.twitter.com/WuYIpr99Xn
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 2, 2022
Although, Gambhir did not say Kohli's name directly but he did said that Surya's 180-strike rate makes him more valuable with than any other Indian batter.
Rohit Sharma and co will have their task cutout against Zimbabwe on Sunday (November 6) in their last Super 12 clash of the T20 World Cup 2022. If India lose, they will be in danger of getting knocked out of the tournament. Rohit Sharma's men will need to ensure their campaign is on track. Zimbabwe, not to forget, have aleady caused an upset in the tournament when they defeated Babar Azam's Pakistan earlier. However, Men in Green have got a new chance in the tournament with a big win over South Africa. They have a healthy NRR and based on that they can knock either South Africa or India out, if other results are in their favour.
