Suryakumar Yadav, unlike other Indian cricketers who received an India cap shortly after their heroics in the Indian Premier League (IPL), had to wait a long time despite being one of the most prolific run-scorers for Mumbai Indians (MI) and also in domestic cricket.
His hard work paid off as he was handed his India debut against England in a home series in 2021.
Suryakumar had been hitting a lot of runs not just in the IPL, but also in domestic cricket, and no one could understand why he didn't make his India debut sooner. Those were trying times for the stylish right-hander, as they were for any other batters.
Suryakumar said on the latest episode of Breakfast With Champions that when he realized his career was stagnating, his wife devised a plan to help him realize his dream, as many of his old teammates had previously done so.
"I was dating my wife since 2010 and we got married in 2016. She knew that I played domestic cricket and I also played in the IPL but after marriage one day she realized and asked me, "All this is fine, but aage kyun nahi ja raha tumhara gaadi (why isn't your career progressing?).
My batchmates with whom I played in U-23 Asia Cup - Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, all played international cricket in 2015-16 and moved forward. So we started discussing what we have done in the last 3-4 years, and what we can do better going forward. Then we started talking to a nutritionist, proper batting coach, she told me to put the effort in every department to see what happens," Suryakumar told host Gaurav Kapur.
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Further adding to how he became more disciplined to focus on cricket, Yadav added, "So it was a collective decision from the both of us. She asked me to stop going out with friends late night, keep a time limit for certain things, make my plan on the weekends, there should be no distractions when it's about cricket. So I thought I will give it a try as well."
On March 14, 2021, Yadav made his T20I debut against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium, however, he did not bat in that match. In his second game, he hit a bouncer off Jofra Archer for a six, giving him his first run in international cricket. SKY made a splash on the big stage by scoring an undefeated 57 runs off 31 balls.
"So when I got my debut cap, my first game went well, I went into my room, I was watching my own match, hearing what all people were saying about me, I was watching all the videos till 4 in the morning. She told me that my journey had just begun. She said my actual journey had started that day for which I had worked hard for the last ten years. She said this was not the end point. She said I could enjoy the knock for tonight, but from the next day, more people will have their eyes upon you so I have to be careful," Suryakumar added.
"Recently, when we went to South Africa for the ODI series, Rohit Sharma told me that it was my wife Devisha who was the turning point of my life. I then realised that the other people were also now realising it," Suryakumar concluded.
After making his T20 debut, Suryakumar went on to make his ODI debut against England in the same series, solidifying his place in India's white-ball squads.
