"I don't think he'll throw it away" - AB de Villiers responds to Team India star's request for advice post AUS vs IND 2025 series

Former South African batter AB de Villiers responded to India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav seeking advice on achieving excellence across all three formats. For the uninitiated, Surya was questioned in a recent interview about what he would ask De Villiers should the duo have a detailed interaction.

The Indian batter requested the South African legend to provide him with valuable tips, given the latter's incredible record across formats. De Villiers was among the rare batters to average over 50 in Tests and ODIs, while also finishing his career with an overall T20 average of 37.24.

Responding to Suryakumar Yadav's request to him, De Villiers said on his YouTube channel (17:35):

"I have a lot of questions to ask him. I'll start preparing for his questions as well. Regarding the balancing of formats, I am not sure he has big hopes and dreams of playing Test cricket. I don't think he'll throw it away. But on finding consistency between ODIs and T20s, I'll do my homework and give SKY a good answer."

Surya boasts an incredible record in T20Is, scoring 2,754 runs at an average of almost 37 and a strike rate of 164.41 in 95 games. However, the 35-year-old hasn't managed to strike gold in the other two formats, averaging under 26 in 37 ODIs and scoring only eight runs in his lone Test outing.

"Very inspirational in the way he performs himself" - AB de Villiers on Suryakumar Yadav's T20I captaincy

AB de Villiers praised Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy and leadership skills for India's phenomenal dominance in T20Is. The Men in Blue have won 25 out of their 34 T20I games under Surya, including a remarkable 13 out of 15 completed matches this year.

"It's absolutely phenomenal. Suryakumar Yadav is quite calm and collected but also very inspirational in the way he performs himself. We all know he can pull a rabbit out of the hat and achieve the unimaginable," said De Villiers (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

"That's the kind of player he is and I think a lot of players find confidence and self belief through that. That's the big word, self belief. In T20 cricket, you need to have a lot of self belief, not only as an individual but as a team as well. Surya brings that to the table."

Team India are coming off a 2-1 T20I series win in Australia, following their 2025 Asia Cup triumph, where they went unbeaten through the tournament.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran