“What are those other things?” quipped India captain Suryakumar Yadav in a lighthearted tone to a question that started with the following line: You did well with the bat and other things. He further replied with a smile, “Yes, we did well with the ball too.” In a nutshell, he was having a lighthearted chat with the aforesaid journalist for saying, ‘other things’.
The above-mentioned paragraph in a pre-match presser ahead of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup game says everything that you want to know of Suryakumar’s good-humoured nature. On a cricket field, the way the India captain wields the willow, it often requires a willing suspension of disbelief on the part of a fan to gauge his style of play. Off the field, Suryakumar seems to wear a different hat: One of a jovial sportsperson who looks to lighten up the mood of those around him. He is just the kind of skipper who could keep the players calm and collected ahead of an India-Pakistan game.
Yes, India thrashed Pakistan in their previous encounter in Dubai. However, in the backdrop of the handshake-gate, one expects a charged-up atmosphere when the two sides lock horns again in the Super 4 encounter. Here’s what Suryakumar had to say on the eagerly awaited game.
“I feel our preparations have been really good, leading to the tournament, and we had three good games as well,” he pointed out. “We are focusing on what we can do the best. As I said at the toss (versus Oman) that we want to follow all the good habits, which we have been doing in the last two-three games, and we will take one game at a time,” he noted. “It doesn’t give us an edge, that we have played them once and had a good game. We have to start from the scratch, whoever plays well will win the game.”
The handshake incident has continued to hit the headlines. Behind the scenes, the PCB and ICC seem to be shooting numerous e-mails to each other. Pakistan’s players would also try to use that incident to motivate themselves. So, what does the India skipper have to say on shutting out the outside noise?
“Close your room, switch off your phone and sit (everyone in the press room had a hearty laugh). It is easy to say, but sometimes it is difficult. You meet a lot of friends. You go out for dinner. There are a lot of players who like to see these things (on social media platforms). It is difficult, but it depends on you, what you want to listen to, what you want to have in your mind.
“But I have been very clear with all the boys, if you want to do well in this tournament, and also going forward, we have to shut out a lot of noise from the outside and take what is good for you. I am not saying cut out the noise completely. Take what is good for you. Everyone is in a good space,” he observed.
Suryakumar’s cheerful nature continued to shine brightly at the Abu Dhabi stadium, when he took on a question with regard to whether the intensity levels of India-Pakistan rivalry are the same as before. The context here is India have dominated the rivalry in the recent past.
“I wasn’t there then, so I can’t say (Suryakumar smiled while referring to India-Pakistan encounters from a bygone era). Rivalry… I don’t exactly know what you guys are thinking. But all I know is as soon as we go out to the middle, the stadium is packed. I say to my players, ‘a lot of them have come to watch the match, it is time to give them entertainment’. We don’t think so much, we have won all three games so far, and we have felt equally happy while winning those matches. I feel every game is a new challenge,” he told.
In India’s final group match against Oman, the think-tank went about experimenting with the batting order. So much so that even Arshdeep Singh batted at No. 10 and Suryakumar was slated to play at the No. 11 position. Suryakumar gave his take on the changes in the batting order and Oman’s spirited show.
“I feel they played some good brand of cricket. There was a little bit of dew but that isn’t an excuse. From our batters’ point of view, they didn’t get a lot of game time, starting from Sanju (Samson), Hardik, even Dube. Tilak also didn’t get a lot of time to bat against Pakistan.
“And Harshit is someone who can bat. So, we wanted to see how he can bat in the last three-four overs. With one or two overs left, Arshdeep said, ‘I want to go into bat’. I said, ‘no problem, definitely go in, completely fine’ (chuckles). I bat or don’t bat, winning the game is more important,” he explained.
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