Ex-South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn calls THIS young batter India's version of AB de Villiers

Kolkata: Suryakumar Yadav’s emergence as a stalwart in the Indian batting line-up was clearly on show when the Men in Blue squared off against Australia and South Africa in the bilateral series.

As India look to end the wait of winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Suryakumar Yadav’s red hot form will be crucial to India’s success in the tournament.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Live’, former South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn explained how the Australian pitches would suit Suryakumar Yadav.

Dale Steyn said, “He's the kind of player that likes to use the pace of the ball. He likes to get in behind the square. In places like Perth, Melbourne, all of these grounds, there is a little bit of extra pace on it. So, you can use the pace, you can hit on fine leg, behind and all along the carpet. And he's also really good when standing still and getting off the back foot."

"He has played some amazing back foot cover drives and some beautiful cover drives off the front foot too. So, he's an all-round player, and it's in Australia, where the wickets are so good, they are batter friendly. You can also get away when a bowler tries to bowl full, you can place the ball left and you can use the pace of the ball really well, given some room. So, he is a wonderful 360 degree player, and reminds me of AB de Villiers. He could be India's version of AB de Villiers and with the red hot form that he's in right now, he's a player to definitely watch out for this World Cup,” Steyn said.

Steyn also heaped praise on Shreyas Iyer, who scored a match winning century in the second ODI against South Africa.

“There's just little things you can do to improve your game, but the way he's batting at the moment,

I don't think he has to change much. He looks in phenomenal form. He's seeing the ball like it's a beach ball and for him in India, that's continued a long way,” Steyn added.

Former South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris shared his views on the Australian pitches, “The wickets in Australia are usually pretty good to bat on. There’s a lot of extra pace and bounce where guys like getting through the line, especially in the T20's. And the quicker the ball gets on to the bat, the quicker it goes. So, looking at the conditions in Australia, it would be quite consistent and good enough to favour the fast bowlers. They've been saying that batters have scored a lot of runs in Australia, so I recommend it's a 50-50 at both ends”. (UNI)