South Africa Pacer Vernon Philander Trolled for calling This India Player a 'Kid'

South Africa pacer Vernon Philander had to face severe criticism on social media for calling Suryakumar Yadav a “kid.” Philander had praised Surya on Twitter for playing a fabulous match-winning knock in the third T20I against Australia but the social media post ultimately did not go down well with the Indian fans.

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“This kid can play. Wow exciting to watch Suryakumar Yadav,” Philander wrote on Twitter.

The post resulted in a huge row on Twitter as many social media users pointed out the age of Surya.

“The kid is only five years younger than you,” one social media user jokingly wrote.

Another social media user criticised Philander and talked about Surya’s maturity while batting. “I do not think he is a kid, his batting in pressure situations shows he is a lot more mature and of course, his age is 32,” read the comment.

One Indian cricket fan pointed out the brilliance of Surya and wrote, “Kid can smash any bowling lineup.”

Another Twitter user drew parallels between Surya and former Australia cricketer Michael Hussey and opined that the devastating Indian batter is not getting enough chance. “He is like Mike Hussey. I hope he plays for another 3-4 years at least. He deserves so much more from cricket,” read the comment.

Coming back to the third T20I, while chasing a target of 187, Surya played a terrific knock of 69 runs in just 36 balls. The Mumbai-born batter had smashed five boundaries and as many sixes during his splendid innings. Surya and Virat Kohli stitched a solid partnership of 104 runs to earn a thrilling six-wicket triumph for their side in the third and final match of the series.

Surya was also adjudged Man of the Match for showcasing his supreme batting skills.

In the opening match of the series, Surya pulled off a blistering innings of 46 to help India in reaching a mammoth total of 208. Though, his terrific batting went in vain as India had to suffer a four-wicket defeat in the first T20I.

The Rohit Sharma-led side will now be taking part in white-ball series against South Africa. The first match between India and South Africa will be played on September 28.

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