Suryakumar Yadav is one of the best batters in the world at present, says Australia pacer Kane Richardson

Australian pacer Kane Richardson heaped praise on India batter Suryakumar Yadav after he smashed a brilliant fifty in the warm-up game between the two sides at the Gabba in Brisbane on Monday. After playing two warm-up matches against Western Australia XI, India locked horns with Aaron Finch-led Australia on Monday (October 17) to fine-tune their preparations ahead of the start of their campaign in T20 World Cup 2022.

Suryakumar continued his purple patch with the bat in the warm-up game against Finch & Co. as he slammed 50 off 33 balls laced with six fours and a solitary six. Fifties from him and opener KL Rahul helped India post a strong total of 186 runs on the board in 20 overs.

While it was a brilliant batting effort from India, Australian bowlers couldn't impress much in what was a dismal performance from the hosts. Barring Richardson, Australian bowlers were taken to the cleaners by the Indian batters in the warm-up match.

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Richardson, who picked up the wickets of Suryakumar, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik and R Ashwin, finished with excellent figures of 4/30 in his four overs. The Australian pacer was left in awe of Suryakumar's batting prowess and called the Indian batter the best in the world at present.

"I think it was the first time he (Suryakumar Yadav) missed the middle of the bat against us. He's one of the best batters in the world at the moment, so it was good taking him on," Richardson said after India's innings in the warm-up game.

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Richardson said he is not expecting to make the cut in Australia's playing XI when they begin their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand on October 22. However, the pacer wants to be ready if he is called upon in case of an injury.

"I'm not expecting to start, but if anything happens with form or injury, I could be in, just happy to be out in the middle today," said Richardson.

Having lost their last warm-up game against the Western Australia XI, India will be hopeful of bouncing back to winning ways by defending the total of 186 runs against Australia at the Gabba on Sunday.