Ahead of the ICC World Test Championship final between India and Australia, star batsman Suryakumar Yadav has revealed the origin of his famous nickname and opened up on his batting shots.
One of the most feared T20 batsmen in the world, the right-handed batsman is fondly called SKY by his fans and others. And years after being called by that name, the India star has revealed that his former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper and India opener Gautam Gambhir coined the term ‘SKY’. SKY is basically the initial of his full name.
Speaking to BCCI, Suryakumar Yadav said that Gambhir called him by the name SKY for the first time when he was playing for the Kolkata-based outfit. He spent four seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders from 2014 to 2017 before moving to his current team Mumbai Indians.
“I think it came in 2014/15 when I was playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) gave this name because he thought Suryakumar Yadav was too long, so he came up with SKY,” said Suryakumar.
Another good IPL campaign for Suryakumar Yadav:
Talking about his performance in the recently-concluded IPL 2023, Suryakumar Yadav had another productive season for Mumbai Indians. He finished the competition as Mumbai Indians’ leading run-getter, scoring an impressive 605 runs in 16 matches, at an average of 43.21 while striking at 181.14.
His performance was one of the reasons why Mumbai Indians made it to the playoffs despite making a terrible start to their campaign. Their campaign ended after a loss to Gujarat Titans in the second qualifier.
Speaking further, Suryakumar revealed that London is his favorite city in the UK, while picking Lord’s as his favorite ground in the country.
“My favorite city in the UK is London and my favorite ground is the Lord’s because of its beautiful history and I remember when I came here for a Test match, it was an amazing feeling,” Suryakumar said.
He also talked about his famous and unique ‘Supla shot’, saying: “I think this term has originated from tennis-ball cricket. I see a lot of them when I go back home. It is when you hit the ball right over the wicket-keeper when it’s short right at your head.”