Team India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav reached out to former South African cricketer and ex-Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star AB de Villiers, seeking his guidance on how to balance performances across both white-ball formats. Known for their innovative strokeplay and ability to hit all around the ground, both Surya and De Villiers are often hailed as modern-day ‘360-degree batters’.
Despite his T20 brilliance, the Indian batter has found it difficult to replicate the same success in ODIs and Tests. While Surya boasts an impressive T20I average of nearly 37 with a strike rate of 164.20 in 93 matches, and over 35 at a strike rate above 152 in overall T20s, his numbers in longer formats remain modest. He averages below 26 in 37 ODIs and just eight from his only Test appearance for India.
When questioned about what he would like to ask AB de Villiers if given a chance to talk to him, Suryakumar Yadav revealed in an interview (via Vimal Kumar’s Instagram handle):
“If I meet him soon, then I want to ask him (de Villiers) how did he balance his T20I and ODI game? Because I have not been able to do so. I thought ODI should be played like T20I. I want to ask him what did he do to be successful in both formats.”
”AB, if you are listening to this, please get in touch with me quickly because there are important three-four years for me ahead. And I’m very keen on playing ODI cricket also. Please help me! I couldn’t balance between T20Is and ODIs.”
AB de Villiers’ Record Across All Formats
AB de Villiers was among the rare batters to dominate all three formats of the game during his remarkable career. The former South African captain amassed an outstanding ODI average of 53.50 with a strike rate exceeding 101 across 228 matches. In Tests, he maintained an impressive average of nearly 51, scoring 22 centuries in 114 games.
However, despite his brilliance, De Villiers couldn’t replicate the same success in T20Is, where he averaged just 26.12 with a strike rate of 135.16 in 78 appearances. Still, his overall T20 record was exceptional — averaging 37.24 at a strike rate above 150 in 340 matches. Notably, he continues to hold the record for the most Player of the Match awards in IPL history, with 25 to his name.
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