T20 World Cup: Kamran Akmal Challenges Suryakumar Yadav, Says ‘If He’s No. 1, Come and Score Against Pakistan’
Suryakumar Yadav has dominated T20I cricket, but former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal has challenged him to prove his mettle against Pakistan in the upcoming T20 World Cup clash.
New Delhi: Since making international debut in 2021, Suryakumar Yadav has been a juggernaut in T20I cricket, where he smashed sixes and boundaries at will with amazing 360-degree shot playing ability. His fantastic show in the format even saw him rise to the top of the ICC rankings quickly, and has maintained the spot since. Although, going into the all-important match against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in New York, SuryaKumar’s credentials has been questioned with former Pakistan Cricketer Kamran Akmal throwing a challenge.
Speaking to Times of India, Akmal considered that while the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat kohli have managed to prove themselves in the big stage and in big-pressure games like those against Pakistan in multi-nation events. Suryakumar, despite being the No.1 ranked T20I batter has failed to make any impact with the bat against Pakistan.
“Virat Kohli is on top. Second is Suryakumar Yadav. His performance against Pakistan is yet to come, but I will still pick him. Rohit Sharma has already proved himself and has scored runs against Pakistan in ICC events, and now it is Suryakumar Yadav’s turn. If he is No. 1, then he should come and score against Pakistan. He hasn’t scored big runs against Pakistan whenever he has come to bat. However, he has scored a lot of runs against other teams. He is a classy player and a 360-degree player. It is a treat to watch him bat. He has cemented his place in a very short period of time,” he said.
The India batter has faced Pakistan four times in his career and has managed to gather only 57 runs, with none of his Knocks more than 20. Two of those innings were in the Asia Cup and two in the T20 World Cup.
On Sunday, Suryakumar Yadav will be facing the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah when the two arch-rivals face off in New York in the Group A match of the T20 World Cup 2024. India head into the game with a comfortable win against Ireland. On the other hand, Pakistan suffered a humiliating loss to the USA via super over.
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