IPL 2020: Why Suryakumar Yadav is so special

Having turned 30 in September, Mumbai Indians batsman looks leaner, fitter and in control of his game. Hes like an artist who, over the years, has understood his craft better

The game of cricket can be ambivalent in nature. Your competitor's failure has to coincide with your success for you to make a breakthrough into the side.

We have seen Amol Muzumdar experience this in the past. With Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Vinod Kambli around and growing in runs and stature, replacing them was impossible.

Amol's prolific runs apparently didn't matter since the men he was competing with, were succeeding.

Plenty of experience

Suryakumar Yadav may be facing a similar challenge. He is a ripe enough player having done the hard yards in domestic cricket. Seventy-seven first-class games, 100 IPL matches are enough cricket under one's belt to be ready for the next level if one is delivering. And Surya is playing the best cricket of his life!

Watching him this IPL season has been refreshing even though he is not a spring chicken. Having turned 30 in September, he looks leaner, fitter and in control of his game. It's much like an artist who, over the years, has understood his craft better, work ethic better and is cricket-smarter to decipher what works for him and what doesn't. Surya's demeanour at the crease now is about assessing situations better and figuring out what will work best for him and his team.

This year, he has been the foundation on which the Mumbai Indians have built their robust batting strength. Be it strong starts or early wickets at the beginning of the innings, Surya has managed to control the innings more often than not. His maturity in this year's edition has showcased his evolution as a batsman of high pedigree.

He is ready or maybe over-cooked, for India colours. His selection maybe just round the corner or even vociferously debated in the rooms that decide in case he has the support. But one would know that players like Surya will always be top of the mind for the India coach and captain—not so much for the numbers, but the approach to batting.

Change in perception

The perception and yardstick of selection is fast-changing. The young are taking over the not-so-young. Players who are younger and scoring will always get a tick in the box over the older and scoring ones. There may be the logic of long-term investment in these cases. Giving younger players a longer run is the mindset of the modern-day selector.

Surya is not young and I daresay he is playing like he has understood the little things about his game well enough to deal with the tag of a 30-year-old. He is probably in a now-or-never situation and hopefully for him and Indian cricket, his 'now' comes when his form is purple.

77
No. of first-class games Suryakumar Yadav has played

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