“Love and the passion for this game kept driving me” - Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav has revealed that his love and passion for cricket kept driving him when he was not getting picked for India despite his consistent performances on the domestic circuit.
30-year-old Suryakumar Yadav earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team when the squad for the T20I series against England was announced.
In an interview with the Indian Express, Suryakumar Yadav stated that he was confident his hard work would pay off some day. The right-handed batsman said:
“Maybe the passion for this game kept driving me. I always used to feel that the more you work hard, the more success you will get in the times to come. I think the love for this game and the passion for this game kept driving me. Obviously, when I was amongst the runs, I used to think I will get picked… etc, etc. But at the same time, you got to be in the present. I just thought I’ll try and do what I can do. Right now I have opportunities coming my way and I just need to score runs. So that’s the only thing that kept me motivated.”
Suryakumar Yadav, who has been a crucial part of Mumbai Indians’ batting unit for the last two IPL seasons, added that his selection in the Indian team was the culmination of a long process. He explained:
“I don’t think it was an over overnight success thing. But in maybe in 2017 or 18, I realised it’s high time I did some smart work which can help me go one step ahead. So that was the year when I realised and I started working more on my game, started realising what I can do more to become a better batter, which can help me go one step ahead and become a better cricketer.”
When asked how he worked to make himself a better cricketer, Suryakumar Yadav replied:
Whenever I used to go back to my room after any game or after any tournament, I used to realise what I could have done better and what I can do better in the tournaments to come. So I used to jot down a lot of points, I started working on it, maybe a fitness-related (aspect) or maybe some mental aspect which I needed to cover. So I kept doing those small, small things at the right time. And I knew when the time is right, everything will fall into place.”
Suryakumar Yadav looks set to make his India debut in 1st T20I
Although Indian skipper Virat Kohli has not officially announced it, Suryakumar Yadav looks set to make his international debut in the first T20I against England today.
On his Instagram story, the 30-year-old shared a post by Sahil Khan, a fitness entrepreneur. The caption of the post read:
"Big HUNK Announcement: Suryakumar Yadav Going to debut Tomorrow in International Cricket. Best of luck Brother for Your India vs England series.”
Suryakumar Yadav commented on the post with some emoticons. In his reply to this comment, Sahil Khan wrote:
"India is proud of you brother."
Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta has also stated that he would pick Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Shreyas Iyer in the team for the first T20I.
"I would play Suryakumar Yadav before Shreyas Iyer. It's just that at No. 4 in T20 cricket I think Suryakumar Yadav is better suited at this point in time," Dasgupta told Sports Today.
The first T20I of the five-match series will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad today.