Ind vs Eng 2021: Love and passion for the game kept driving me – Suryakumar Yadav

India’s batsman Suryakumar Yadav had to wait for a long time to get his national call-up. Yadav has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit as well as the IPL but he was still ignored by the national selectors. The 29-year-old was consistently knocking at the selection doors and had to literally break down the door with his brilliant performances.

SKY, as he is known, had scored 480 runs in 15 innings at an average of 40 in IPL 2020 and a whirlwind strike rate of 145.02. The right-hander has played 47 matches for Mumbai Indians in which he has scored 1416 runs at an average of 35.40 and a strike rate of 135.76 in the IPL.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has been in scintillating form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. The right-hander has amassed 332 runs in the five matches he has played, at an impressive average of 66.40 and an excellent strike rate of 151.59.

Yadav revealed that the love and passion for the game kept driving him to give his best despite the frustration of not getting selected in the national team.

Suryakumar Yadav said while talking to Indian Express, “Maybe the passion for this game kept driving me. I always used to feel that the more you work hard, the more success you will get in the times to come. I think the love for this game and the passion for this game kept driving me. Obviously, when I was amongst the runs, I used to think I will get picked… etc, etc. But at the same time, you got to be in the present. I just thought I’ll try and do what I can do. Right now I have opportunities coming my way and I just need to score runs. So that’s the only thing that kept me motivated.” 

On the other hand, Yadav revealed that he started to improve his game in 2017 and 2018 and worked hard as a batter. The right-hander has done well for Mumbai Indians and he will aim to grab his chance for the national team.

“I don’t think it was an overnight success thing. But maybe in 2017 or 18, I realized it’s high time I did some smart work that can help me go one step ahead. So that was the year when I realized and started working more on my game, started realizing what I can do more to become a better batter, which can help me go one step ahead and become a better cricketer.”

Meanwhile, it is also expected that Suryakumar Yadav will make his T20I debut in the first match against England. The first T20I will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad today.