India all-rounder Hardik Pandya praised Suryakumar Yadav on Thursday, saying the India batter has been making the most of his opportunities in T20I cricket despite being called up "late." Hardik claimed the Mumbai Indians hitter could have represented India at least two years ago, but his hunger is propelling him to new heights.
Suryakumar Yadav has previously indicated that he was disappointed by the repeated selection snubs and that he was sad when he did not receive an India call-up for a tour of Australia in 2020-21 despite having a brilliant IPL 2020 campaign with Mumbai Indians.
Suryakumar claimed that after his name was left off the squad, he took his wife for a long trip to the beach and even missed a few training sessions in the IPL.
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Suryakumar Yadav, has developed into one of India's batting mainstays in T20I cricket since making his debut in March 2021. He showed his dominance versus England on his home debut.
SKY hasn't looked back since, scoring over 1200 runs with a strike rate of 180 and an average of 42. In 2022, he became the first Indian to score over 1000 runs in T20Is in a calendar year.
"Suryakumar Yadav entered international cricket a little late. I think he should have played for India at least two years back," Hardik Pandya told Star Sports ahead of India's T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final against England.
Also, Hardik Pandya said that he was attempting to remain calm and assist his teammates in remaining composed ahead of the crucial semi-final. Notably, Hardik and Virat Kohli addressed the team huddle before the toss on Thursday in Adelaide.
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