Jos Buttler says 'batter of the tournament' Suryakumar Yadav is not India's only threat

England captain says side need to find a way to dismiss world's No 1 ranked batter in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide

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Jos Buttler labelled Suryakumar Yadav the “batter of the tournament so far”, but said stopping him is not England’s sole focus ahead of their T20 World Cup semi-final with India.

Yadav’s run-haul of 225 is third most in the competition, behind his teammate Virat Kohli and Dutch opener Max O’Dowd.

The manner in which he has scored them, with a strike rate of 193.96, has meant India’s No 4 has stolen the limelight in the event to date, though.

Buttler, the England captain, says working out how to stop him will be a crucial feature of Thursday’s meeting in Adelaide.

“He's been great to watch,” Buttler said. “I think he's someone who has probably been the batter of the tournament so far in terms of the way you want to watch someone go about it.

“I think his biggest strength looks to be the amount of freedom he plays with. He's obviously got all the shots, but he allows himself to play all the shots, as well. He's got a very free mindset from what I can see.

“But as with any batsman in the world, it takes one chance to create a wicket. We desperately need to find a way to do that, and it would be remiss just to think about him. I think they have some other excellent players, as well.”

Mark Wood and Dawid Malan underwent fitness tests at England’s training session on Wednesday.

Both are injury concerns ahead of the game with India and Buttler said they will be given as long as possible to prove they are ready to play.

“You need guys to be fit to participate in the game,” Buttler said. “I think in all sport, players don't always play to 100 per cent, but of course you have to be able to fulfil your role in the team.

“We'll give that as long as we can with those guys. As always, we have 15 guys preparing to play.

“There's been some really tough selections throughout the whole tournament. We've got some fantastic players who have not yet played in the tournament, and they're all desperate to make their mark if given a chance.”

Updated: November 09, 2022, 5:30 AM