Suryakumar Yadav, who earned his maiden call-up for Team Indian, credited his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians and its skipper Rohit Sharma for his rise in Indian cricket.
Starting his IPL journey with Mumbai Indians in 2011, Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t set the stage on fire due to a lack of opportunities. Yadav was later bought by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, where he played the finisher's role.
However, in 2018 Suryakumar Yadav returned to Mumbai Indians where he got opportunities at the top of the order and set the stage on fire.
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Ever since Yadav returned to Mumbai Indians, he passed the 400-run landmark in each of the last three IPL seasons and has been the mainstay batsman for five-time champions Mumbai Indians.
Addressing his rise in Indian cricket, Suryakumar Yadav while crediting his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians said that the franchise gave him free hand to express fearlessly.
"I think their (Mumbai Indians) support has been immense. I still remember when I came back to MI from KKR in 2018... my role at KKR was completely different, I used to bat lower down the order and play the finisher's role.
"But at MI, the plan was crystal clear, they wanted me to bat higher up the order, they gave me that responsibility, they gave me that challenge to go out and express fearlessly. I started batting at No. 4, I also got an opportunity to open,” Suryakumar Yadav told Starsports.
Yadav credited the support and confidence shown by the Mumbai Indians team for his success.
"I really enjoyed that role as well and later on, they just kept supporting me. The way they have pushed me and shown confidence in my ability has been great and very positive from their side. I have really enjoyed it in the last 3 years," he said.
Suryakumar Yadav further credited Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and said that the latter showed a lot of faith in him.
"Talking about all the players, starting from the captain, he (Rohit) has shown a lot of faith in me. A lot of positive energy from his side and then there has been Hardik, Krunal, and Kieron Pollard, they have been playing around me,” he said.
Yadav commented that he followed Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya and saw what they do on off days and match days which helped him learn many things.
"I have really enjoyed spending time with them on and off the field. I have learned so many things. Hardik and Krunal, have already played for India. So I just followed them and saw what they do on off days and match days. There are a lot of small, small points that I grabbed from these players," he concluded.
Suryakumar Yadav is the highest uncalled run-getter in IPL with 2024 runs in 101 matches. His heroics in the Indian Premier League (IPL) led to his maiden national call-up for the five-match T20I series against England.
(Sports Today inputs)
