Although Suryakumar Yadav made his international debut earlier this year, he had to wait for a long time before getting the chance. The England series at home was his first campaign for Team India and the star batter left his mark straightaway, beginning the journey with a commanding six to Jofra Archer in the first delivery he had faced in international cricket.
In a recent chat with cricket presenter Vikram Sathaye, he opened up on his long snub from the team, despite scoring plenty of runs continuously in both domestic cricket and the IPL.
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Suryakumar also shared that he was certain that his name would be there in India’s squad for the Australia tour in 2020. While he believed his performances in the 2019 and 2020 seasons of IPL would earn him a ticket to Australia, he was disappointed when he was not selected for the tour.
He also opened up about his match-winning knock for Mumbai Indians against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
“Almost half the IPL was over before that match (against RCB) happened. I still remember, the Indian team (for the tour of Australia) was going to be announced. I had a good IPL 2019 and 2020 season, and I scored runs in domestic cricket as well,” said the right-handed batter.
“I expected that I would get a call. It was not an arrogant thought like ‘yes, I am going to get a call’. But, back of the mind, there was this hope that the long wait would end,” Suryakumar Yadav said.
“When I saw the squad, and my name was not in it, I was a little disappointed. From my side, I was trying to do everything. I took my wife to the beach for walks, and missed a few practice sessions, as I was thinking about that (not being selected) only,” he further added.
“I was lost and disappointed” – Suryakumar Yadav
Meanwhile, he has been retained by his franchise and he also mentioned how the coach Mahela Jayawardene and Zaheer Khan, two legends of the game, had spoken with him to use the clash as a chance to make a long-lasting impression. He had scored an unbeaten 79 off 43 balls in that game, which featured 3 sixes and 10 boundaries.
“One day, Mahela and Zak came up to me, and said that this was the perfect opportunity to prove myself as it was MI vs RCB. I said, ok, but back of my mind, I was lost and disappointed. I didn’t know what was happening even as the trainers and captain were speaking to me,” Suryakumar Yadav concluded.
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