India batter Suryakumar Yadav took the cricketing world by storm with his dazzling exploits in the shortest format of the game last year.
The dashing right-hander played 31 T20I innings in 2022, amassing 1164 runs at an average of 46.56 and a remarkable strike rate of 187.43, including two hundreds and nine half-centuries. As a result, he earned the ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Year honour.
After experiencing success in T20Is, it was expected of Suryakumar to do well in Tests and ODIs as well. However, he endured a torrid time in the home series against Australia earlier this year.
His much-awaited Test debut in Nagpur didn't go as per plan as he scored 8 runs in the only innings he batted and then there were three successive ducks in the 50-over series that followed.
Having entered into the IPL 2023 with poor form, Surya also struggled in the first few games before he regained his mojo to put MI in playoff contention.
"I feel it's very important to have that balance in life. That's what I have learnt from last year and this. Last year was full of highs. This year, it started the way I wanted it to start but then suddenly, (there were) three-four ducks in four-five games," Suryakumar told the media on Saturday (May 20) ahead of MI’s must-win IPL game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
"I realised that if you create that balance in your life… whether you are doing well or not. It's difficult because it's a human tendency. It's very easy to say that you have to balance it out, stay grounded. It's very easy. But to implement that in real life is difficult," he added.
"If you create that balance, stay the same with your friends and family when you are scoring runs as you are when you are not scoring runs, then it actually reflects in the game," he continued.
After starting the season poorly, Suryakumar Yadav found his rhythm to amass 486 runs from 13 games at an impressive strike rate of 186+, including a whirlwind century against Gujarat Titans.
"I have felt it during the last month. At the start of the IPL, I started thinking: ‘Where are my runs!’ But then I started doing the same things which helped me do well last year and everything came back to place," he said.
Suryakumar said he doesn’t have strength to hit powerful sixes but focuses on hitting shots that fetch him runs.
"I save some (shots) for the game too, but yeah, whatever strokes I play in the match, I would have already played them somewhere, in practice or in a match or would have practised them somewhere.
"And if I have not played a specific shot in the practice, I keep playing it in my mind, thinking on the lines of where I can get the runs from on the ground, or I could play another shot," he said.
"I try to play the field, I do not have that much power to hit long sixes but I try to play less-risk-high-reward shots. I try to play as long as I can for the team.
"In the practice, I keep playing those shots but I do not bat much. Maybe 15-20 minutes, and when I get the feel, I make an exit," he added.
Suryakumar said adding new shots to his repertoire is not something he is working on.
"The ground is so vast, there are still so many areas that need to be explored. But like I said, I don’t try and do anything different. When everything is going so well, why do you need to look for a new area?” he said.
"It is (strike rate) above 100 only no? (laughs). I do not focus much on a particular type of bowler because I know there are different types of bowlers coming in the game.
"I know that if I slow down somewhere, I have the ability to cover up later on, and if you see the overall strike rate is over 170 (laughs again)," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
