Suryakumar Yadav had to wait long before he got an India call earlier this year against England at home. At Ahmedabad, he got his India cap as he made his T20I debut against England. Though since then he hasn’t looked back. 3 months later he got his ODI cap in Sri Lanka and also was in Test squads for series against England and New Zealand.
In an interview with Vikram Sathaye, he opened up on his journey to fulfil this dream to play for India. The 31-year old batsman looked back at the great run he was having in domestic cricket and IPL. He also spoke about the frustration he was going through after not getting a call for the Australia tour 2020-21.
“Almost half the IPL was over before that match (against RCB) happened. I still remember the Indian team (for the Australia tour) 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 Mumbai batsman.
“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.”
“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 only,” he added further.
Noteworthy that he scored 424 runs in IPL 2019 with a strike rate of 130, bettering that in the 2020 season with a tally of 480 runs with a strike rate of 145, adding to that his whopping strike rate of 150+ in Vijay Hazare Trophy (Domestic 50-over tournament).
He also spoke about that famous innings he played against Royal Challengers Bangalore which followed a renowned celebration, gesturing, “Don’t worry, I am here.”
“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 in my mind, I was lost and disappointed. I didn’t know what was happening even as the trainers and captain were speaking to me,” he further added.
And rest as they say is history, as he finished the game single-handedly with a sparkling knock of 79*(43).