"What is this guy doing?" - Glenn Maxwell on how he reacted to Suryakumar Yadav's hundred against NZ
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is simply in awe of Team India star Suryakumar Yadav for the kind of year that the latter has had with the bat.
Yadav took his batting to the next level in the second T20I against New Zealand at the Bay Oval on November 20, smashing his second hundred in the format. His unbeaten 111 off just 51 balls led India to a 65-run victory.
Maxwell was shocked to see the difference between Yadav's score and that of the rest of the batters. The pitch wasn't as easy to bat on for most batters, but 'SKY' made things look incredibly easy out in the middle.
Speaking on "The Grade Cricketer" podcast, Glenn Maxwell opened up on how he reacted to Suryakumar Yadav's hundred. He said:
"I didn't know the game was on. But I later checked the scorecard and sent the picture of that to Finchy (Aaron Finch) and said, 'What is this guy doing? He is batting on a completely different planet! Look at the score of the others and then he scores 111 off 50.'"
Maxwell added:
"I watched the replay of the innings the next day and it's embarrassing that he is so much better than everyone else. It's almost hard to watch. He is better than anyone we have got."
Maxwell also spoke about Yadav's incredible 68 (40) against South Africa in the T20 World Cup at Perth and explained how difficult it was to play shots on that pitch. He added:
"The innings that he played at Perth was one of the most ridiculous innings I have ever seen, having batted there a couple of days before that. Especially for an Indian to bat like that in those conditions and be so successful is just incredible."
Glenn Maxwell on Suryakumar Yadav playing in the BBL
On being asked whether Suryakumar Yadav could feature in the Big Bash League (BBL), Maxwell gave a hilarious reply. He said no team would be able to afford the value of such an incredible player:
"We won't be able to afford Suryakumar Yadav in the Big Bash League even with all the money in our cap. We have to sack everyone, save the money and then hope he agrees."
SKY has scored a ridiculous 1164 runs in the 2022 calendar year, maintaining an average in excess of 46 and a strike rate of more than 187.