"Please get in touch with me quickly" - Suryakumar Yadav's plea to former RCB star amid AUS vs IND 2025 T20Is

Team India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav requested former South African and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter AB de Villiers to advise him about balancing the two white-ball formats. Renowned for their ability to access all parts of the ground with their strokeplay, Surya and De Villiers are regarded as the two '360 degree batters' in world cricket.

However, the Indian veteran has struggled to achieve success in the ODI and Test formats despite his incredible T20 numbers. Surya averages almost 37 at a strike rate of 164.20 in 93 T20Is and over 35 at a strike rate of over 152 in overall T20s.

Yet, the 35-year-old averages under 26 in 37 ODIs and an underwhelming eight in Tests after his lone red-ball outing for India.

When asked about one thing he would ask AB de Villiers should they have a conversation, Suryakumar Yadav said 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."

Surya is currently leading India in their ongoing five-match T20I series in Australia. The series is tied at 1-1 with two games remaining (one no-result).

AB de Villiers' numbers across formats

AB de Villiers was one of the few batters to achieve incredible success across the three formats in his illustrious career. The former Proteas skipper finished with a phenomenal ODI average of 53.50 and a strike rate of over 101 in 228 outings.

De Villiers also boasted a Test average of almost 51, including 22 centuries, in 114 matches. Yet, the legendary right-hander struggled in T20Is, finishing with an average of only 26.12 and a strike rate of 135.16 in 78 games.

Nevertheless, De Villiers produced excellent results in overall T20s, averaging 37.24 at a strike rate of over 150 in 340 matches. The champion batter still holds the record for most Player of the Match awards in the IPL with 25.