"I was lost and disappointed" - Suryakumar Yadav opens up about 'Main Hoon Na' celebration during IPL 2020

Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Suryakumar Yadav has opened up on his famous ‘Main Hoon Na’ (I am there) celebration during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Abu Dhabi.

In the 48th match of IPL 2020, he scored an unbeaten 79 off 43 balls as MI beat RCB by five wickets. After taking the team over the winning line, the batter made a gesture towards the dressing room to suggest “Don’t worry; I am there”.

In a chat with cricket presenter Vikram Sathaye, Suryakumar revealed the background story of the celebration. Admitting that he was ‘lost’ and ‘disappointed’ after being snubbed for the tour of Australia, the 31-year-old said that he was keen to prove a point. He said:

“My family says it is one of the best knocks I have played in recent past. During the tournament, everyone was telling me - ‘yes, you are scoring runs; you are contributing in every game, but we want to see you finish a game’."

"Almost half the IPL was over before that match (against RCB) happened. I still remember, the Indian team (for the tour of Australia) was going to be announced. I had a good IPL 2019 and 2020 season, and I scored runs in domestic cricket as well.”

Suryakumar added that he even missed a few practice sessions for MI as he found it tough to deal with his continued snub in the Indian team despite consistent performances. The MI batter elaborated in this regard:

“I expected that I would get a call. It was not an arrogant thought like ‘yes, I am going to get a call’. But, back of the mind, there was this hope that the long wait would end."

"When I saw the squad ,and my name was not in it, I was a little disappointed. From my side, I was trying to do everything. I took my wife to the beach for walks, and missed a few practice sessions, as I was thinking about that (not being selected) only.”

Suryakumar continued:

“One day, Mahela (Jayawardene) and Zak (Zaheer Khan) came up to me, and said that this was the perfect opportunity to prove mysel,f as it was MI vs RCB. I said, ok, but back of the mind, I was lost and disappointed. I didn’t know what was happening even as the trainers and captain were speaking to me.”

The batter, though, added that, after a while, he decided he had to ‘press that button’ and switch on properly.

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“It all happened instinctively” - Suryakumar Yadav on winning gesture after RCB match

Looking back at the RCB game, Suryakumar pointed out that everything fell into place and the set-up was perfect for him to do the finishing job. He explained:

“We fielded first, and were set a tough target of 165. My batting came in the 6th over. I told myself this is the perfect platform to prove my worth. At the first time-out, my thought was that if I can remain not out, and take the team to victory, all the boxes will be ticked properly.”

Suryakumar added about his match-winning knock and his post-game celebration:

“I started slowly, but then, gradually, I started taking on (Yuzvendra) Chahal and Dale Steyn. After the game, when I won the match for the team, I glanced at the dressing room and where my family was sitting. It all happened instinctively. I had not planned anything. Everything happened according to what was happening over there.”

Chasing 165, MI got home with five deliveries and as many wickets to spare. Suryakumar Yadav was named the Player of the Match for his unbeaten knock, which featured ten fours and three sixes.