SKY salutes his Mumbai U-22 coach Vilas Godbole

Vilas Godbole

India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has revealed that his Mumbai U-22 coach Vilas Godbole predicted that he would play for India, a decade ago. SKY first wore the India cap in 2021.

"When Sir [Godbole] watched me play for the first time that day [at MCA-BKC ground], immediately after the nets, he quietly whispered in my ears, ‘mark my words, you will play for India,'" Suryakumar wrote in Godbole's book, Cricket Coaching and Beyond, which will be released in Mumbai today.

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ICC's World No.1 T20 batsman, called Godbole a father figure. "Sir is not just a coach but a father figure who understood me first as a young boy and then a cricketer - he knew my strengths and weaknesses and more importantly, accepted me the way I was. He never tried to change my batting style, but he was always there to guide me not just with technical inputs, but with my thinking of the game and beyond," Suryakumar added.