India batsman Suryakumar Yadav on Tuesday (July 6) expressed his excitement to play under the coaching of legendary Rahul Dravid, who is known for his calmness in the most difficult of situations.
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As the Virat Kohli-led side is currently on the tour of England, veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan has been handed the captaincy of the second-string Indian team, which will be coached by NCA chief Dravid during the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.
The white-ball tour, comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is, will be held in Colombo from July 13 to July 25.
"It is a great opportunity for everyone to have a tour amidst this situation (COVID-19 pandemic). It is a great challenge and responsibility for everyone to come out here and express themselves. Great thing is having Rahul sir around, we have heard a lot about him. This is my first tour with him but I have heard from many players that Rahul sir is very calm and composed when it comes to this role. I am very excited and looking forward to it," Suryakumar said during a virtual press conference, as quoted by ANI.
After years of grinding in domestic cricket, Suryakumar Yadav received his maiden India call-up earlier this year for the England T20I series at home and he justified his selection with two fine knocks.
While the right-hander didn’t get an opportunity to bat on his debut match, he scored 57 off 31 balls in the fourth T20I and followed it with a brilliant cameo of 17-ball 32.
"I think that was a completely different challenge, for a batter, every time you go in and play a different game, you have to start from scratch. Here also I have to start from zero. That was a different series and this is a different series but the challenge remains the same. I have to go out there and perform in the same way I did. The pressure would be there, if there is no pressure then there is no fun. As I said, it will be a great challenge and I am really looking forward to it," he said.
Suryakumar also spoke about Indian Premier League (IPL) and Mumbai Indians’ (MI) contribution in his development over the years.
"I think it has been a great experience and a great learning experience as I have been a part of the setup for a long time. Every year, I have learnt something different from all my teammates. IPL is a great learning and till now, it is like a saying, every year I go in the tournament, I go home learning something new. It is a great learning process and it has helped me to gain a lot of experience."
Meanwhile, Indian cricket team played an intra-squad T20 simulation game in Colombo on Monday (July 5) as part of their preparations for the white-ball series.
The match was played between Shikhar Dhawan XI and Bhuvneshwar Kumar XI and the latter’s team won the contest easily.
Batting first, Dhawan XI posted 154/4 in 20 overs with Manish Pandey scoring 63 off 45 balls. Opening the innings, Ruturaj Gaikwad also contributed 30-odd.
In reply, Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal forged a 60-run opening stand in quick time while Suryakumar Yadav slammed a quick-fire 50-odd to overhaul the target within 17 overs.
(With ANI inputs)
