One of the most impressive performances in IPL 2020 came from Suryakumar Yadav of the Mumbai Indians. The stylish right hander, who batted at number 3, was instrumental in Mumbai defending their title.
The Mumbaikar was expected to be on the flight to Australia, but was shockingly overlooked for the national team which left him quite disappointed.
"It was a good season for me. Ahead of the season, I had set some goals and I am happy that I could contribute for the team. I wanted to deliver when (the) chips were down and fortunately everything panned out well. During the preparations, we as a team made a slogan, “creating history”, and wanted to win the title in 2020 which is an even year. Mumbai Indians have never won in an even-numbered year. So, I have to say IPL 13 gave us reasons to be the happiest," Yadav was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Suryakumar scored 480 runs in 16 games with a highest of 79* against the Rajasthan Royals.
"Frankly, I was expecting to be selected this time. I was a bit disappointed when I found my name missing. I couldn’t even train that day and it was difficult to take my mind off from that dejection. Even Rohit (Sharma) asked me if I was disappointed and I told him I was. But never mind. I will wait for my chances. There is a lot of time to show my cricket abilities and make my case stronger for a national call-up. I hope I can score big in domestic games and then do well in the next IPL to catch the attention of the selectors," he added.
“The selection is not in my hand. So, I don’t think much….Even Sachin Tendulkar “paaji” sent me a message asking me to continue scoring runs and I would like to use the chances and do well… I will try my best to be in contention for the World T20 team.”Suryakumar Yadav
He also touched upon the much talked about on-field interaction with skipper Virat Kohli. The Mumbaikar, who helped win the game against RCB, made a gesture to his teammates as if to say, “I’m there” which has gone on to become part of the IPL folklore.
"It was all very instinctive. Virat Kohli is a huge cricketing figure and he plays the game very aggressively. It was an important game for both teams and whatever happened, it did during the game. After the game, we laughed about it and he congratulated me on my batting. Virat’s brand of cricket is top class and the way he dominates world cricket is just amazing. I too look up to him. In the end it was great to win the game."
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