"Bhai, pair pad raha hu tere, kuch bolna nahi!' - Suryakumar Yadav shares story about that 'stare' face-off with Virat Kohli in IPL 2020
Suryakumar Yadav's finest knock under pressure in the IPL arguably came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2020 season. Despite not being selected in the Indian squad for the tour of Australia, Yadav let his bat do the talking and proved why he is a reliable batter for any IPL team.
However, the game is also remembered for the face-off between Suryakumar Yadav and the-then Indian and RCB skipper Virat Kohli. Many fans hailed Yadav for making fearless eye contact with Kohli and for not getting bogged down by his sledging.
Speaking on the YouTube show, 'Breakfast with Champions', Suryakumar Yadav opened up on the incident and revealed how he kept his composure despite being intimidated by Kohli. He said:
"His energy on ground is always on another level. That game was important for both sides to win. So his sledging too was on another level. I was telling myself, 'I have to keep my focus and win this game no matter what.' The stare was instinctive. I was chewing gum but inside I was terrified."
Yadav also spoke about how his focus on winning the game for Mumbai Indians (MI) helped him in keeping calm. He said:
"He came walking towards me and deep down I told myself, 'Bhai, pair pad raha hu tere. Kuch bolna nahi! (I am requesting you. Don't say anything). This too shall pass.' Lucky that my bat fell down and it broke the moment. Then I didn't look at him the whole game and put my head down and continued batting."
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That stare, that damned stare 👀🔥
and clearly Suryakumar Yadav won it. You don't get to see any player especially an Indian giving it back to Kohli. Absolutely loved the confidence and cold aggression in that stare 🔥
#RCBvsMI #MIvsRCB https://t.co/0Jy9BqHgeG
"Keep scoring runs, you will get that India cap" - Suryakumar Yadav on how Rohit Sharma backed him
Despite scoring heaps of runs in domestic cricket as well as the IPL, Suryakumar Yadav was ignored by the national selectors. However, MI skipper Rohit Sharma kept on encouraging him to maintain his consistency as he believed that one day he would definitely get that India call-up.
On this, Yadav stated:
"It was my birthday in IPL 2020 season and while wishing, Rohit Bhai said, 'Happy birthday. Keep scoring runs you will get that India cap.' He always backed me to keep on scoring runs in every game to break the door of the Indian team."
Yadav has fast grown into an indispensable part of the Indian white-ball team. His form will be crucial if India are to finally win that elusive second T20 World Cup this year.