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Thailand batter Natthakan Chantham has revealed that she has tried to add Indian T20 star Suryakumar Yadavs 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 Suryakumars 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. Chantham also admires Indias 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 hes batting. I want to know not about technique, but about how he plays, about the mind, she said. 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. Chantham took up cricket by chance at eight after her schools movie club was full, eventually becoming part of Thailands womens 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 worlds 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, its not hockey, she said. When I tell them SEA Games, Asian Games, they definitely know. They know thats 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)
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