Suryakumar has established himself as one of India’s leading batters in shorter formats.
His batting was one of the highlights of India’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign in Australia. The dashing right-hander scored 239 runs in six matches at a sensational strike rate of 189.68 with three half-centuries, which came against Netherlands, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Until 2021, India’s batting in the shorter formats was mostly about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but Surya has proved to be a revelation and solved the team’s long-standing No. 4 conundrum.
Speaking to PTI, Suryakumar Yadav opened up on his rapport with Kohli and Rohit, saying he is ‘very lucky’ to have the two batting superstars around him.
"I am actually very lucky that I share dressing room with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. They are a different breed of international cricketers. Things they have achieved, I don’t know I will be ever able to achieve that. Recently, I have had some good partnerships with Virat bhai and I have enjoyed batting with him. Rohit is like an elder brother and my sounding board. When I am in doubt, I ask him direct questions about my game. He has been a good guiding force since I joined MI in 2018," he stated.
The star batter also talked about Mumbai Indians’ contribution to his success. Having joined MI in 2018, Suryakumar had two stunning seasons in 2019 and 2020, amassing 424 and 480 runs respectively to help the franchise clinch the IPL title in successive years.
While Surya was overlooked for the tour of Australia in 2020-21, he got the chance to make his debut in the home T20I against England in March 2021.
"Let me elaborate about MI’s contribution first. When I came back here from KKR in 2018, I was looking for an opportunity to bat higher up the order and even without me asking, the management entrusted me with that responsibility. I grabbed that opportunity, kept performing and never looked back. MI provided me with all the facilities I required to move up the ladder," he added.
In 42 T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav has amassed 1408 runs at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 180.97, including two hundreds and 12 half-centuries. He has also made a mark in ODIs, scoring 384 runs from 16 matches at an average of 32 and a strike rate of 100.52 with two fifties.