– Subhayan Chakraborty & Amit Shah
Just like his batting, Suryakumar Yadav has enjoyed a blistering rise to the top in international cricket. After grinding it for long in the domestic circuit and Indian Premier League, Suryakumar broke into the Indian team after the age of 30 but hasn’t looked back since. He not only took the T20 World Cup 2022 by storm, scoring 239 runs at an average of 59.75 and strike rate of 189.68, but also rose to the top of the ICC Players Ranking in the shortest format of the game.
After solidifying his place in the Indian team, at least in the T20Is, and emerging as one of the most reliable players with the willow, Suryakumar was promoted as the vice-captain of the Indian T20 side that will host Sri Lanka in January.
With no official clarity over the future of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, Suryakumar could very well be Hardik Pandya’s deputy in the shortest format in the run-up to the T20 World Cup.
“I was not aware of my vice captaincy. My dad told me that I had been selected as a vice-captain. He’s been very busy on social media,” Suryakumar Yadav told RevSportz.
Suryakumar’s father Ashok Yadav, who is from Bihar, has seen it all. From the early struggling days of Suryakumar at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) colony in Mumbai to seeing his child as he lit up Australia in the T20 World Cup, the journey is slowly coming a full circle. But what did he say after getting the news that ‘SKY’ has been picked as the vice-captain of the Indian team?
“My father told me ‘be grounded always..’,” Suryakumar revealed.
It must be a surreal feeling. Back in 2014-15 in Ranji Trophy, Suryakumar stepped down as Mumbai captain mid-way in the season after his team’s sloppy run. It was a turbulent time and now after years of hard-work, he will be the deputy to Hardik Pandya. Also, Suryakumar has previously led India, in the Under-23 Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup in 2013 where the Boys in Blue defeated Pakistan to lift the cup.
“Still feels like a dream. It is just a reward for my long hard work. Seeds boya hai toh daal aaya hai.. chahunga yeh patch lamba rahe (I had sown the seeds that’s why the fruits are there to be seen. Hopefully, this patch will go long).
On being a deputy to Hardik, Suryakumar said that the duo share a great bond and hope to continue it for the betterment of Indian cricket.
“Mera and Hardik ka bond lamba raha hai. Batting bhi saath main kiya hai. (We have shared a good bond for a long time now and have batted together as well). So we share a good camaraderie,” SKY concluded.
India take on Sri Lanka in the limited-overs series consisting of three T20Is and as many ODIs, starting from January 3.