Thai batter tries Suryakumar Yadav's 'Supla shot', experiment fails
Synopsis
Thailand batter Natthakan Chantham reveals her failed attempt to master Suryakumar Yadav's 'Supla shot'. She considers SKY her favourite cricketer and also admires Shubman Gill's effortless batting, hoping to learn about his mindset.
Attempting the 'Supla Shot' and Admiring Suryakumar
Thailand batter Natthakan Chantham has revealed that she has tried to add Indian T20 star Suryakumar Yadav’s trademark ‘Supla shot’ to her batting arsenal, but the experiment has not gone entirely to plan, according to Olympics.com. Notably, the ‘Supla shot’ is an unorthodox cricket stroke in which the batter uses their wrists to ramp or scoop the ball at high pace over the wicketkeeper or fine-leg fielder, sending it behind the batter.
Ahead of the 2026 Asian Games, Chantham revealed she has tried to master the T20 World Cup 2026-winning captain Suryakumar’s ‘Supla shot’, joking that it “hit me everywhere” and admitting she needs to focus on her strengths first. “I have tried, but it hit me everywhere! I would love to (play it), but first I have to stick to my strengths,” she said as quoted by Olympics.com. Although the ‘Supla shot’ is still a work in progress, Chantham greatly admires Suryakumar and considers him her favourite cricketer. She follows his performances through online highlights and social media, particularly appreciating his confidence, freedom and unconventional approach to batting. “I could see his confidence and attitude to play. He just times the ball. He does not care about having good technique, or (looking) beautiful. He just times the ball well, and it becomes beautiful like he is.”
Admiration for Shubman Gill's Effortless Style
Chantham also admires India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, particularly for his effortless batting style and ability to time the ball beautifully. “Effortless. I love someone who plays effortless and times the ball well,” she said. Chantham said, if she gets to meet Gill, she would be interested in asking him about his mindset and thought process while batting than about technical aspects of his game. “I might ask about his thinking when he plays, when he’s batting. I want to know not about technique, but about how he plays, about the mind,” she said.
Influence of Indian Coach
Chantham credits Indian coach Harshal Pathak for significantly shaping her batting, especially by helping her develop a more aggressive approach and better understand how to build an innings. “He guided me a lot - how to build the game, how to play aggressive batting. He impacted my batting a lot,” she said.
Accidental Cricketer with Big Aspirations
Chantham took up cricket by chance at eight after her school’s movie club was full, eventually becoming part of Thailand’s women’s cricket journey. With limited cricketing exposure at home, Thailand looked to countries like India, Australia and England for inspiration, while the sport remains relatively unfamiliar among the Thai public. For Chantham, the 2026 Asian Games are especially significant because the event is widely recognised in Thailand. She sees the knockout tournament as an opportunity to compete without excuses and inspire the next generation by showing that Thai cricketers can stand alongside the world’s leading teams.
“I picked up cricket accidentally. I wanted to pick the movie club, but the movie club was full and the cricket club was still empty. They still have no idea about cricket when they ask me what sport I play and I say cricket, I have to say it slowly, properly. They say, ‘Oh, is it hockey?’ And I say, ‘No, I said cricket, it’s not hockey’,” she said.
“When I tell them SEA Games, Asian Games, they definitely know. They know that’s quite big for you and quite popular in Thailand,” she added.
“We have no excuse to say, ‘We can go easy,’ or ‘Next opportunity, next chance.’ We have no next chance. We have to go 100 per cent and no excuses. The new generation have no idea about playing along with the big teams like India, Pakistan, Australia, England. But when we reach that, it means we message them, ‘You also can do it’,” Chantham said. (ANI)