Suryakumar Yadav's wait for that elusive maiden India call-up continued this Monday (December 23) as the national selectors didn't name him in either of the squads announced for the T20I series against Sri Lanka as well as the ODI series versus Australia at home in January.
The right-hand batsman has been in terrific form this year, playing his role in Mumbai Indians' record-breaking fourth IPL title victory before averaging 113 in four innings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and scoring 392 runs at a strike rate of 168 in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament for Mumbai.
"I have never gone through such a thing in life about the India selection thing," Yadav told The Indian Express. "I have heard from team-mates who played for India, that the anxiety of being so near to playing for India is hard to explain. It’s the first time I am dealing with it and I just want it to get over soon. Get back to my normal life."
"Other day I was seated in this same restaurant and finished my dinner, I was on my way out when an old man came running and asked, ‘Are you, Suryakumar Yadav?’ I said, yes. He said, ‘I’m watching your batting; you will soon play for India’."
"It’s a routine now. The waiter, the driver, watchman, milkman, liftwala, kids who play down in my building, are all telling me this. I just say thank you but it’s tough now to get over it."
The selectors decided to continue with the struggling middle-order batsman Kedar Jadhav in the ODI side when it felt that this could be it for the 34-year-old. "Sometimes I don’t know whom to talk to," Yadav said. "People say not to think too much. It’s easy to say. But the mind goes there automatically. I can’t help it. One day I couldn’t sleep till 5 am. The anxiety is at its peak. Other day in Surat I was mobbed at the station."
While it feels good on being praised, the social media raving that goes on for Yadav has actually only added to his anxiety these recent months.
"Online world has been craziest; Instagram has been loaded with messages," he said. "I try not to see it but it’s human behaviour to get attracted to praises. Sometimes I wanted to switch off my mobile data but there is a group of WhatsApp of my team. As a captain I need to send and share team meetings and other stuff."
Hopefully, there in lies a change in fortune amid his story somewhere; for Suryakumar Yadav is too good a player to continue missing out.
(Inputs from The Indian Express)
