'Almost Like Watching AB In Many Ways,' Graeme Smith Compares This Indian Batter With AB De Villiers

New Delhi: Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has found similarities between his one-time teammate AB de Villiers and Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar has been in tremendous form this year and been the face of Indian cricket in the past 12 months. "I've seen Suryakumar Yadav for a while now. I've been fortunate to watch him while commentating during the IPL. He grew every year. You could see he had the talent. It was almost like watching AB in many ways," Smith was quoted as saying to India Today. Like De Villiers, Suryakumar is a 360 degree player with plathora of shots at his disposal. He is the only Indian batter who have batted at a strike of over 180 on a consistent basis, a quality that the former Protea possessed during his playing days. "You see the thinking start to get to the same level as the talent and ability. It's terrific to have players like Suryakumar Yadav coming through the ranks. The talking points, the energy they bring to the game. Everyone turns to the TV to watch a player like him. "It's exciting and terrific for Indian cricket," added Smith. Nicknamed as 'SKY', the Mumbai batter is the no.1 T20I batter currently and has scored 1164 runs in 31 games this year at a staggering strike rate of 187.43 with two centuries.