"AB de Villiers had more power" - Irfan Pathan says Suryakumar Yadav cannot be compared with the original Mr. 360

Irfan Pathan believes Suryakumar Yadav cannot be compared to either AB de Villiers or Jos Buttler as the latter two are more renowned for their power game.

Suryakumar smashed 51 runs off 36 deliveries in the second T20I between India and Sri Lanka in Pune on Thursday, January 5. However, his knock went in vain as the Men in Blue lost the game by 16 runs while chasing a mammoth 207-run target.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked whether Suryakumar Yadav is almost at par with Jos Buttler, to which he responded:

"It is very difficult to compare. You cannot compare with AB de Villiers as well because I feel AB de Villiers had more power. He was ahead of Suryakumar Yadav when you talk about hitting over long-off or overs the covers consistently."

The former Indian all-rounder believes India's Mr. 360 possesses a wider range of shots in his arsenal, although he might be less powerful than Buttler and AB de Villiers, elaborating:

"If we talk about Jos Buttler, he has comparatively much more power, if you talk about range hitting. But if you talk about the range, Suryakumar Yadav has a bigger one - he can play the cut, hit over covers, mid-wicket, and play the sweep."

Ab De Villiers said - "Suryakumar Yadav is the new 360. But I'm still the orginal Mr 360. Don't take the nick name away from me (laughs)".

Suryakumar struck three fours and as many sixes in his 51-run knock. He strung together a 91-run sixth-wicket partnership with Axar Patel (65 off 31) but could not take his team across the finish line.

"You won't get a batter like him to play in the middle overs" - Irfan Pathan on Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has played the majority of his T20I innings at No. 4. [P/C: BCCI]

Pathan feels Suryakumar's game is best suited to the middle overs, saying:

"He has two types of sweeps as well - he hits both behind and in front of the wickets. So considering that, he might have less power but a bigger range. You won't get a batter like him to play in the middle overs."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by stating that the Mumbai Indians (MI) player should bat at No. 4 for India, reasoning:

"That is why I was saying in the last match as well that he shouldn't bat at No. 3. No. 4 is the right position for him because he comes there and starts playing the big shots against the spinners right from the start, shows his range and keeps the strike rate up. You won't get a better batter than him at No. 4 in world cricket."

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Suryakumar has played 24 of his 42 T20I innings at No. 4. The right-handed batter has smashed 893 runs at an excellent average of 47.00 and an outstanding strike rate of 183.74 at the position.