Former Indian cricketer and Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir said that letting go a player like Suryakumar Yadav was KKR’s biggest loss, as they didn’t keep him after the 2017 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Suryakumar Yadav has not been easily earned by Mumbai Indians. It’s probably the biggest loss KKR has ever had in 13 years,” said Gambhir to ESPNcricinfo.
Yadav has been in the form of his life after becoming a part of Mumbai Indians after the 2018 mega auction.
Playing in the top-order (opening or No 3), Surya got more time and space to showcase his talent. In 46 matches in 3 seasons, Surya has scored 1,416 runs for MI at an average of 36.4.
However, the four years that he played for KKR, he batted in the lower middle-order (No 6/7) and couldn’t play to his potential, as when he came into bat, he got less than 15-20 balls to play for the most time.
Talking about Suryakumar Yadav, Gambhir said, “Someone who was young, came into KKR, played for four years, obviously couldn’t get the number which he should have batted at. He was batting at No 6 or 7. But, KKR could have easily built a side around Suryakumar Yadav.”
In these four years, Yadav played 54 games and scored an aggregate of just 608 runs, but Gambhir emphasised the importance of him in the side not just as a player but as a leader, too.
“He was the vice-captain when I was leading the side. Made him the vice-captain so there’s an easy transition, I could see that leadership quality in him and very selfless guy, you make him bat at No 6, you make him bat at No 7, he can bat at any number. Yes, he wanted to bat at No 3.”Gautam Gambhir, Former Cricketer and KKR Captain
Gambhir also specified that because Rohit Sharma is so successful, and he has Kieron Pollard and Quinton de Kock to go to on the field, we don’t get to see much of Yadav leadership skills but going forward, Mumbai will look at him as a successor of Sharma.
“You don’t get Indian players with that kind of talent and plus the leadership skill. We still haven’t seen the leadership quality of his, he’s has got a great head on shoulders, he knows how to lead a side. Going forward, Suryakumar Yadav will probably take over the leadership of Mumbai Indians if he stays on and they will see him as the leader in the group.”
Surya who has also been the leader of the Mumbai team in domestic cricket, still has been bereft of a place in the Indian National side. He has been in terrific form over the last 2-3 years in every form of cricket he has played, which is proof of his talent and perseverance.
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