Mumbai, Apr 10 (IANS): Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has praised Suryakumar Yadav's counter-attacking knock against RCB in an IPL 2022 match, adding that the Mumbai batter's ability to play with the field is 'unreal' and he deserves a 'Surya Namaskar' for his exploits.
Suryakumar had missed the first two games for Mumbai in the ongoing season due to a hairline fracture in his thumb, but he made an impressive return to the tournament with back-to-back half-centuries.
After scoring 52 against Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this week, the batter pulled off a counter-punching 37-ball 68, laced with 5 boundaries and 6 sixes and helped Mumbai post a fighting total of 151 for 6 on the board against RCB.
"Unbelievable. He played a gem in their last game. Today (Saturday) was really special. When you are 50/0 and then 89/6 and then your team scores 71 runs in the last 5 overs with Surya doing most of the damage, you know at the end of the knock as he passes by, say 'Surya Namaskar'," Shastri told Star Sports.
"At the stage when you have your team on the mat, to throw a counter-punch like he did, it was amazing," he added.
The veteran cricket commentator also feels that Suryakumar's ability to play with the field effortlessly makes him one of the best all-round hitters of the game.
"The variety of shots he plays, the wrist work, the power he brings to his game, his uncanny ability to look at where the gaps are and hit there, he is just very unreal. AB de Villiers in his prime did it. You won't get too many like them in cricket, there was de Villiers, there is Buttler and Suryakumar. He is right up there on the world stage," he said.
Meanwhile, former West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop was also impressed with the 31-year-old's batting and called him as a phenomenal player.
"Suryakumar Yadav either has three shot options for each delivery; or he knows what the bowler is going to deliver before the bowler himself knows. Phenomenal player," Bishop wrote on Twitter.
After losing four consecutive matches, the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians will now take on Punjab Kings in their next IPL 2022 match on Wednesday.