"Consistent performance is the key to make it to the Indian team" - Interview with Suryakumar Yadav

Surya Kumar Yadav is known for his dynamic batting skills in the domestic circuit. He was awarded the M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the Best Under-22 Cricketer which he truly deserved. He was in conversation with Sportskeeda recently:

It’s not easy to be a batsman from Mumbai as you have a legacy to live up to. Would you agree that the names of the Gavaskars and the Tendulkars bring along more pressure?

Yes, a little pressure but more than that they have always inspired and encouraged us.

What do you think is the reason behind the success of so many players from Mumbai?

It is pure hard work and dedication.

Tell us something about your Mumbai Indians experience…

It is great to play for your home team and with Sachin sir in it, one cannot want anything more. The experience has been great and I have learnt so many things about the technical and mental aspects of the game which has helped me in becoming a more mature batsman.

For the last two years Mumbai has not been as prolific as they used to be in the Ranji Trophy. Can you point out a reason for the team’s inconsistencies?

I think we have been doing fairly well and in a team game you can’t always expect us to win all the matches. We have ups and downs but the most important thing is that we learn from our mistakes and improve in areas where we have gone wrong.

Your exclusion from MI for last year’s Champions League T20 on the grounds of ‘injury’ left them short of Indian players and resulted in MI getting to play 5 foreign players. But you scored 182 that week in U-22 tournament for Mumbai. What would you say about allegations that you weren’t really injured and that the team sat you out just to get an additional foreign player in?

Well, I had fractured my finger and playing in the CLT20 could have proved dangerous and I could have had to sit out for the whole season so this was the only reason I did not play.

Indian batsmen have always struggled against the short ball; have you consciously worked on it?

Yes I have worked on it a lot.

As every player’s dream is the Indian Test cap, it is a widely held belief that being a good player of the short ball is a sureshot entry into the Indian side, considering that most T20 studs are Test duds when they get peppered with the short stuff. What’s your view on that?

All I know is good consistent performance is the key to make it to the Indian team. Being good at facing short balls can be a part of it but I think it’s important to be an all-round batsman.

You have been selected in the India ‘A’ team now. How long do you think it will be before you get your Test cap?

Right now I am only concentrating on my performance for the A side. If I continue to perform good, the day will not be far I know.

Is it true that you gave Unmukt Chand a chocolate for scoring well against Mumbai in a Ranji Match?

Yes the boy batted brilliantly and I was really impressed with it so [I gave it to him] just to show my appreciation.