Former Pakistan great Wasim Akram has described the stylish Suryakumar Yadav as a potential “game-changer” for India in the ICC T20 World Cup, saying his ability to hit innovative 360-degree shots in the post-powerplay overs makes him a special player. .
India and Pakistan started their tournament campaigns against each other on Sunday and the world’s greatest left-armer of all time said Pakistan’s disappointing ICC record will have no bearing on the upcoming game.
“Suryakumar Yadav will be India’s game-changer. He would change colors after six (powerplay) overs and I have seen his shots, he was with me (Akram was mentor) at KKR (back in 2012 and 2014) and now he has improved,” Akram told ‘Aaj Tak’ told. .
“What a wonderful player he (Surya) has become. He plays the safe shot and doesn’t stop, so he should play that way.”
In fact, Akram feels that Surya is a product of the strong domestic structure that the BCCI has built over the past decade.
“Indian cricket is at its peak and I heard Ajinkya (Rahane) say that BCCI has invested in domestic cricket. It’s still bearing fruit.”
whereas Virat Kohli Having decided to step down from the T20 captaincy, Akram feels it will help him “play fearless cricket” in the tournament.
Drawing a comparison between Kohli and his young Pakistani counterpart Babar Azam, another player who was a legend for his country, Akram feels Babar will eventually emulate the Indian captain in terms of achievements.
“Virat is Virat, one of the greatest players in the world. Babar has just started captaincy but is a very good player to watch again. He is consistent in all formats, T20 or ODI. He is learning the ropes of captaincy as he is a fast learner.
Akram, who has taken more than 900 international wickets in Tests and ODIs, said, “It is a journey and Babar will eventually scale the heights that Kohli has surpassed.”
However, the former Pakistan captain was not too happy that the squad was changed a week before the start of the tournament as veteran Shoaib Malik made the cut.
“The selectors changed three men and Shoaib is in good form but it shows that the selectors had no plans. When you create a situation like this, the players are in two minds. But now that the team has been announced, I would say Shoaib has experience and there will be some difference.
He said Shoaib and Mohammad Hafeez can stop the rot in the event of a top-order collapse.
“If there are two quick wickets, he and Hafeez can stabilize the innings. In T20, you can’t hit fours and sixes in every ball.
Akram wants Pakistan to follow the West Indies model in the middle overs, where they continue to attack even after losing wickets. They may lose a few games in the process but the intention should be to play positive cricket.
“The problem in T20 is from 6-12 overs and teams usually run into trouble at that stage.
“Good teams usually keep the powerplay pace because if you play the waiting game it will be 70 in 12 overs and even if you score in 10 overs, it will be 160.
“Look at West Indies (T20 World Cup winners in ’12 and ’16), they never stop. They will keep hitting but Pakistan goes run-a-ball and then the pressure builds up,” concluded Akram.
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