Ben Stokes, an all-rounder for England, has been left in awe by Suryakumar Yadav’s strokes but is certain that his bowling attack can stop him in the T20 World Cup semifinal match against India. Virat Kohli, an Indian legend who he believes “won the right to be never written off,” also received generous praise from him. The best all-rounder for England is cautiously hopeful about his team’s chances in Thursday’s important semi-final.
“Suryakumar obviously came in and set the world alight. He is a fantastic player and plays some shots where you sort of just scratching the head sometimes. He is in great form, but hopefully, we can try and shut him down and not allow him to get on one of his rampages,” Stokes, who has been impressive with the ball, told reporters in an interaction organised by the England & Wales Cricket Board. A player of Kohli’s magnitude could be cast off so simply after a downward spiral, said the Durham man, with whom Stokes has had a good rivalry over the years.
“I think with Virat he could have four unbelievable years like he had, and then have a not so loud couple of months and then for some reason plays like that and gets written off, we have got no idea why. I think he has earned the right to never be written off.” As far as Kohli is concerned, his numbers speak for itself, said Stokes. “You don’t produce the numbers and produce the innings that he (Kohli) does in all three formats and it’s fine. We as players and people who play against him a lot, we never take anything he has done in the game before into the game we have got here,” said Stokes.
