Moving on from a fairly quite ODI World Cup campaign, Suryakumar Yadav has assumed his usual role of grabbing headlines in T20 cricket. On Thursday, four nights after he was part of that heartbreaking World Cup final loss for India, Suryakumar, now as the India stand-in captain for the T20I series against Australia, smashed a thundering 42-ball 80, laced with four maximums and nine boundaries. Three nights later, he carved two sixes in his 10-ball cameo knock of 19 as India attained an early 2-0 lead in the five-match contest.
The twin knocks on the back of ODI World Cup show sparked a discussion on the mystery that has been Suryakumar in the two white-ball formats, but it subsequently also reignited talks around the beast that he is in T20 cricket. The India star has found himself often been compared with legendary batters of the format in AB de Villiers, for his 360-degree hitting abilities, while few have hailed him as a “New Universe Boss”, for his utter dominance, no matter the conditions, no matter the bowling attack, no matter the circumstances. But Chris Gayle, the self-proclaimed ‘Universe Boss’, didn’t seem to like the comparison.
Responding to a Hindustan Times query on the sidelines of the Dehradun leg of the ongoing 2023 Legends League Cricket, Gayle indignantly threw his hands up hands in the air and settled the speculation. “No, there’s no other Gayle. There will never ever be another Gayle. There will never ever be. It’s only going to be one Universe Boss, just one,” he stressed.
Although Gayle quickly moved on from the subject, he was all praise for India captain Rohit Sharma and his new-look aggressive batting in the ODI World Cup, which played a huge role in the team making that run to the final. En route, he also broke the West Indies legend’s record for most sixes in international cricket.
Gayle congratulated Rohit, stating, “I like his aggressive batting. I want batters to destroy bowlers, and Rohit is one of them who does that.”
The 44-year-old also hailed his friend and former IPL teammate Virat Kohli for shattering Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries, during the recently-concluded World Cup campaign.
When asked by Hindustan Times if he knew back then during his first meeting with Kohli in the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp in 2011 that the star batter would one day rise to the pinnacle in ODI cricket, Gayle smiled and said: “Absolutely, man. When I was playing for RCB, he was already phenomenal, even in ODI cricket. It was no secret back then. It was all right there in front of all of us, and from there to see him get to the 50th century in ODI cricket, that’s unbelievable. To break a legend’s record like Sachin, that’s fantastic. We have to give the guy as much credit he deserves. That’s phenomenal. And I don’t see anyone getting close to that or breaking that.”
‘Great feeling to open with Kallis’
This is the third time Gayle has been part of the Legends League Cricket. He plays for Gujarat Giants in the franchise format which is hosted in India. But the highlight of his campaign in 2023, as admitted by Gayle, has been opening with South Africa legend Jacques Kallis.
“Cricket is my life, it is in my blood, and it has given me everything. So when you get a chance to play cricket in a league like Legends League Cricket (LLC), it’s fantastic to be here. It is a win-win situation for everybody,” said Gayle. “Good to be a part of LLC my second stint with them. Good to share the dressing rooms with all the Legends of the game. I get to open the batting with Kallis; it is a great feeling.”