A stylish stroke-maker, Suryakumar Yadav made his first-class debut in 2010, and played his first full season for Mumbai in 2011-12 where he finished as the highest run-getter for the team with 754 runs in nine matches. He has since been part of the team as they made their journey to their 41st Ranji Trophy title win in 2015-16 season.
Having grown in to the role of being a vital cog in the lineup, he played a vital role in Mumbai’s success in the 2015-16 season. A free flowing batsman, the 25-year old has worked towards becoming a mature senior bat in the lineup.
With youngsters like Shreyas Iyer and Akhil Herwadkar making their way into the side, Suryakumar is working on mastering the art of changing gears and also playing a supportive role. One of his most crucial innings of the kind came in the final against Saurashtra when he scored a 112-ball 48 runs in 152-run partnership with the No 3.
Speaking about the knock that helped set-up the match for Mumbai, Suryakumar said, “When I went in to bat it was a pressure situation. We were 23 for two and from there chasing that total (Saurhastra’s first innings score of 235) and that too in the final was a different pressure altogether. But seeing the way Shreyas Iyer was batting at the other end - he was just going on with his strokes, playing his natural game I thought it is better that I stay there, take him with me and build a good partnership and take Saurashtra out of the game rather than leaving it for other players. And I just started playing the normal game. It wasn’t like I was trying to play like that (make special effort to play the anchor), I was playing normally.”
That kind of an innings has been the hallmark of the middle-order batsman’s batting this season. Discussing it, Suryakumar said, “Of course, I have learnt how to carry my innings from the beginning till the end and it’s a good thing. I am in a learning process and it’s a good thing for me to play like that. Whenever I get an opportunity to play my natural game I will play according to the situation.”
When the occasion demanded it, he also pilfered the bowling attacks to help his side build or chase targets like he did in the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh. He scored a century in the second innings to help bat the opposition out of the game in the Cuttack encounter. Speaking about the significance of the knock for himself and the team, he said, “It was very important specially seeing it in context of how it went for me and from team point of view. In the first innings the team needed me to be there at the crease the most when I got out and came back before lunch, but in the second innings I made sure that my team was in a comfortable position of course no one wants to get out but unfortunately it happens. So it was very important for me at that time to stay there and curtail my shots and just and keep on batting till the team is in a comfortable position.”
Curtailing the shots is one of the aspects of Suryakumar’s batting that has been noticeable this season. The batsman worked on curbing his instincts to play shots over mid-wicket from early on. Speaking how he had groomed himself to bat more in the ‘V’, he said, “Those were also my shots, playing in the ‘V’. I just thought one day when I was sitting in the room and watching my videos that instead of playing those sweep shots and all from the beginning let’s try and play straight. The coach (Chandrakant Pandit) and manager said, ‘if you want to hit, play your natural game it is straight, if you get out playing a lofted shot, if you get out playing a cover drive or straight drive or something like that we won’t say anything just go out there back yourself and clear he ground but in ‘V’.’ I thought about it for a day or two and I came out with a plan for the season to do the same. After batting that way in two-three games I realised that after taking a bit of time and going on straight looks much better than playing here and there from the start and that worked out for me.”
“I have been practicing in nets and what you do in the nets, you execute the same in the game. I would go on and it would happen automatically,” he mentioned.
While he was modest about his role, the batsman’s efforts have been acknowledged by his team-mates especially Iyer who was involved in partnerships with him throughout the season. Asked how difficult it was to hold back on occasion, he said, “It was a bit difficult, I won’t say impossible. It was required that I play around the other players. If someone is playing well on that day I have to play around them, that’s the team plan so we go with that rather than thinking something out of the box.
“Of course we are allowed to play our natural game. It’s not that we were told not to play our natural game, but seeing the team position (when we went in) each time we decide to stick around the players who have been playing well. When I was batting well, (Aditya) Tare would stay around,(Siddhesh) Lad would stay around so the same thing, when Shreyas batted well we would stay around and batted around him.
“It is nothing like switching gears. When I go in to bat if someone is batting really well I just try and maintain that momentum,” he added.
Suryakumar also had to build on the innings with tail on some occasions while batting lower down the order. Speaking about which, he said, “I got a few opportunities (to bat with the tail), there is pressure, but you have to show trust in them. Mumbai has a history of tail-enders getting runs. They have also been working hard in the nets. It’s a good experience and I would like to excel with them if I get the opportunity to bat with them.”
In doing so, he finished as the third highest run-getter for Mumbai this season and the fourth in the tournament with 788 runs from 11 matches.
Reflecting on where it all started this season, he said, “After the first game against Andhra (the only match where Mumbai conceded the first innings lead) everyone was disappointed and we thought about it. Everyone was given their roles and responsibility.
“The same thing they told me, ‘try to play 20 -30 balls normally and then after getting into that rhythm then no one can stop you , just go on and express yourself hit boundaries do whatever you want. But just go out there and spend some time give yourself some time to get into the rhythm and gain understanding of the wicket how the ball is moving and all’ Apart from that the coach has been helping me with the mental aspect as well (which has helped),” he explained.
“Every year I learn something new. This year I have learnt discipline and try and to stay in the present. Personally the season was okay, I feel I could have done better in days and T20s. It’s a learning process. I am trying to be better every season learning from my past and this year as well so you will see a different Surya next year as well,” he concluded.
