“You’re crazy”: Suryakumar Yadav recollects Jacques Kallis’ reaction after teaching him how to play the lap shot

Suryakumar Yadav recollects Jacques Kallis’ reaction back in 2016 upon explaining him from where he perfected his famous lap shot. 

It has not been even two complete years since India’s Suryakumar Yadav made his international debut, and the entire Cricketing fraternity is already overawed by his exceptional batting prowess, and the ability to execute some of the most ridiculous shots.

Presently ranked no.1 in the ICC men’s T20I batting rankings, the 32-year-old’s career strike rate of 176.37 is the second-highest in the world, having almost made it a habit to hit a boundary or two the moment he arrives at the crease to exert his dominance right away.

A lot of this has to do with his ability to execute the ramp shots, the sweeps, or his famous scoops over fine leg or the square leg region off the pacers; all of which now define his style of play.

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However, all of the aforementioned shots are a result of continuous practice, which began way before he even played his debut innings in the Indian Premier League in 2014.

Suryakumar Yadav recollects Jacques Kallis’ reaction after explaining him how he plays the lap shot

During an interaction with ESPNCricinfo post the Asia Cup 2022, Suryakumar Yadav was asked to tell about the interaction he had with his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders’ head coach Jacques Kallis during the 2016 edition, when the South African legend wanted him to explain the way he executed his famous lap shot.

Yadav, who already knew that Kallis was renowned during his playing days for executing the sweep shot, was taken by surprise upon the legendary batter’s insistence to learn how he played a shot more or less similar to a sweep.

The now Mumbai Indians (MI) batter told him that this ability of his is a result of the days spent on the grounds in Mumbai, where the red soil pitches turned square, thereby leaving him with not much options but to play more of the sweeps and the lap shots.

“We play on red soil, where you don’t have any other option when it’s turning square, so we start playing that stroke. He (Kallis) was like, “You’re crazy!” Back then I used to play sweep shots starting from deep midwicket till fine leg. I still do, but at that time I had just started playing that. And he’s like, “Can you teach me?” I was completely shocked!,” remarked Suryakumar Yadav.