09 October,2020 07:20 AM IST | Mumbai | Harit N Joshi
MI's Suryakumar Yadav in full flow against RR at Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. PICs: BCCI/IPL
Before the cricketing world came to an abrupt halt in March due to the Coronavirus-induced lockdown, Suryakumar Yadav was raring to go in the Indian Premier League. The flamboyant Mumbai Indians batsman had a dream domestic season and IPL seemed to be the final frontier to pave the way for his much-awaited selection in the Indian team.
Yadav finished the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai with 508 runs in eight matches. He had the best average of 113 among Mumbai batters in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 226 runs in four innings. Yadav was the third highest run-getter in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament with 392 runs in 10 innings.
He has continued his rich form in the IPL by scoring an unbeaten 79 v Rajasthan Royals - his highest score in the IPL. Yadav has reignited hopes of making it to the Indian team, which were dashed when the national selectors ignored him for the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka and Australia earlier this year.
Batting post lockdown wasn't easy for Yadav. To rediscover his touch and form, he banked on his Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma's advice. "Things were not in my control then [when the lockdown was announced]. I really feel, whatever is in my control I should focus on that. I was batting really well and looking forward to the IPL. And then this lockdown happened. But later on, when I came to know that practice sessions are starting...there is a small camp that is being set up and later on the IPL was going to happen, I started preparing myself mentally and physically," Yadav said during a media interaction from Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
"When I went to the ground and started batting, [the first] few days were very difficult. There was no sport on for two-three months. But then I had a conversation with Rohit [Sharma] and told him that I have not been batting for the last two to three months, and now when I have started, I am not the same Surya what I felt when I batted in March. He told me to just come around, pick your bat, try and knock around for a few days. Don't go hard on yourself in the nets. Slowly, after a week or 10 days, you will be back playing the same way as you were before. He said, 'Just take everything out of your mind and knock around. Be clear about what you want,' " he added.
Rohit Sharma
Yadav revealed he has worked hard on his off-side game.
However, having the backing and mentoring of his skipper Rohit made a huge difference to his game. "In the last two-three years, I have trusted him blindly and followed whatever he has said. I knew what my game was and I understood what he was trying to tell me to do better on that given day. I always take that one point that can help in taking my game one step ahead. He is always there, maybe on the ground, during the game, in the practice sessions or in the team room. It's always great to have him around and have his backing," said Yadav.
As far as his India selection is concerned, Yadav is confident that a "big thing could just be around the corner."
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