3 ways Suryakumar Yadav is similar to AB de Villiers

Suryakumar Yadav's rise to the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men's T20I Rankings within two years of his India debut speaks volumes about the impact he has had on international cricket.

A swashbuckling batter who likes to impose himself on the opposition, his body language and confidence at the crease has grabbed the eyeballs of many fans.

SKY's incredible shot-making ability has also made many fans draw parallels to South African legend AB de Villiers. On that note, let's take a look at three similarities between Suryakumar Yadav and De Villiers:

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#3 360-degree shots

Suryakumar Yadav's first ball in international cricket bowled by Jofra Archer was smashed over the fine leg for a gigantic six. It was enough for Indian fans to realize that they had a truly special player on their hands.

SKY took his game to the next level when he smashed his first hundred for India against England at Trent Bridge. Some of the shots that he played were simply incredible and had both fans and commentators go gaga over it.

Arguably, it was that innings that made people believe that Yadav is truly India's 'Mr.360', a name that has been associated with AB de Villiers for his ability to hit shots all around the dial.

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#2 Puts pressure on opposition from ball one

The Pakistan team's celebration when Haris Rauf dismissed SKY during the T20 World Cup showed just the psychological impact he has on the opposition these days, even when he hasn't faced a single delivery.

Like AB de Villiers in his prime, Suryakumar Yadav also has the ability to get going from ball one and intimidate the opposition with his mere presence at the crease. The best time to dismiss him is arguably when he is new to the crease, as once he gets set, it is incredibly difficult for the bowlers to stop him.

Suryakumar Yadav has already scored 965 runs this year, at a mind-boggling strike rate of 183.80. These incredible numbers are enough to prove that the longer he stays at the crease, the more damage he can do to the opposition.

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#1 Bond with Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers' friendship is well known to the cricketing fraternity as they have had so many incredible partnerships during their time together for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

However, not many would have envisaged that the same was about to happen between the former Indian captain and SKY when the duo had 'that' moment during the IPL 2020 season, staring at each other.

Many thought that Kohli and Yadav would never share a great camaraderie, but what has panned out since then has been something completely opposite. Ever since the duo started playing together consistently for India, they have developed a great understanding on how to pace their partnership.

Kohli has been quite vocal about how much he loves batting with SKY and even the latter has reciprocated the same about the former Indian captain. The duo have already had a couple of century stands this year and their camaraderie has certainly proved to be a blessing for Team India.

Whether Suryakumar Yadav goes on to achieve the legendary status that De Villiers had is something only time will tell. But one thing is for certain, he is well on his way to becoming a part of that league when he hangs up his boots.