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Lara Compares Suryakumar To Viv Richards; Calls Shots To Replace Virat Kohli With SKY

Suryakumar Yadav in action for Mumbai Indians (AP Photo)Suryakumar Yadav in action for Mumbai Indians (AP Photo)

World No. 1 T20 Batter, Suryakumar Yadav will be a hot property for Team India at the T20 World Cup 2024. 

Dominating the list of world's best batters in the shortest format, Suryakumar displayed his sheer T20 prowess, by notching up 102 runs off 51 deliveries for Mumbai Indians (MI) against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 clash on Tuesday.

West Indies legend Brian Lara has likened Yadav to batting great like Sir Vivian Richards. The former SRH batting coach wants the prolific T20 batter to bat at No. 3 for India at the T20 World Cup. Notably, the position belongs to former India captain Virat Kohli, in case he is not opening for the side. 

“My one advice, and I don’t know if you’re going to like it or not, but SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) has to bat at three. He just has to bat at three. He is one of the greatest T20 players in the game. And you speak to players like Sir Viv (Richards), and he will tell you he used to want to get out there in the middle," Lara told PTI. 


"And I feel that that’s the same thing with SKY. So, get in on it as quickly as possible. He’s not an opener, get him out there and if he can bat for 10-15 overs, you know what’s going to happen."


"He’s going to put you in an unassailable position if you bat him first, or he’s going to win the game if he’s batting second. And then let everybody sort of position themselves outside of that, but a good structure is important,” he added.

The 33-year-old has an average of 44.55 in T20Is. He has scored four centuries and 17 half-centuries in the shortest format at a phenomenal strike rate of 171.55.