Suryakumar Yadav reminds Dale Steyn of compatriot 'Mr. 360' AB de Villiers

Bengaluru, October 12: Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn feels in-form India batter Suryakumar Yadav reminds him of his compatriot AB de Villiers, who was dubbed Mr. 360.

Following five successive half-centuries in the bilateral home series against Australia and South Africa, Yadav continued his red-hot form Down Under as he slammed a 35-ball 53 in India's 13-run win over Western Australia in a practice match earlier this week.

Steyn believes the pace and bounce on Australian pitches will suit Suryakumar's 360-degree game, making him India's go-to player in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"He is a wonderful 360-degree player, and reminds me of AB de Villiers. He could be India's version of AB de Villiers and with the red-hot form that he's in right now, he's a player to definitely watch out for this World Cup," Steyn said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Live'.

Pace and bounce perfect for SKY

Steyn went on to explain how the Australian conditions would be just perfect for the Indian No. 4 to hit top-gear.

"He's the kind of player that likes to use the pace of the ball. He likes to get in behind the square. In places like Perth, Melbourne, all of these grounds, there is a little bit of extra pace on it.

"So, you can use the pace, you can hit on fine leg, behind and all along the carpet. And he's also really good when standing still and getting off the back foot.

"He has played some amazing back foot cover drives and some beautiful cover drives off the front foot too. So, he's an all-round player, and it's in Australia, where the wickets are so good, they are batter friendly.

"You can also get away when a bowler tries to bowl full, you can place the ball left and you can use the pace of the ball really well, given some room," he added.

Steyn praises Shreyas Iyer

While India's first-choice white ball players, including Suryakumar are in Australia, Team India led by Shikhar Dhawan outclassed South Africa 2-1 in the one-day series. During the 50-over format series, another Mumbaikar Shreyas Iyer played a crucial role.

Steyn also heaped praise on Iyer, who continued his fantastic form in ODIs in the series against South Africa as he amassed 191 runs from three innings to top the charts.

"There's just little things you can do to improve your game, but the way he's batting at the moment, I don't think he has to change much. He looks in phenomenal form. He's seeing the ball like it's a beach ball and for him in India, that's continued a long way," Steyn said.

Morris predicts 50-50 chances

Steyn's compatriot and former all-rounder Chris Morris also shared his views on the kind of pitches in Australia and although he feels the wickets will favour the quicks, he feels it will be an even playing field for both batters and pacers.

"The wickets in Australia are usually pretty good to bat on. There's a lot of extra pace and bounce where guys like getting through the line, especially in the T20's. And the quicker the ball gets on to the bat, the quicker it goes," Morris said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Live'.

"So, looking at the conditions in Australia, it would be quite consistent and good enough to favour the fast bowlers. They've been saying that batters have scored a lot of runs in Australia, so I recommend it's a 50-50 at both ends".

The Rohit Sharma-led side will face Australia on October 17 followed by a clash against New Zealand on October 19 at the Gabba in the official warm-up games before taking on Pakistan in their tournament opener on October 23.