'Me' - Suryakumar Yadav confidently says he would beat Virat Kohli in a staring competition

India’s promising limited-overs specialist batter Suryakumar Yadav  opened up on who would win a staring contest between himself and batting megastar Virat Kohli and another one between pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, and, the Caribbean all-rounder Kieron Pollard.

Yadav was asked these questions during his interactive session with ESPNCricinfo. While Yadav might have only known Virat well in the last couple of years, he knows the likes of Bumrah, and, Pollard really well since the trio has been the integral members of the five-time winners Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL).  

They were a part of the MI squad that had won back-to-back titles in the 2019 and 2020 editions. While choosing between Pollard and Bumrah, the middle-order batter had no second thoughts in saying the India’s premier pacer would come out on top in a staring contest.

However, while picking between him and Kohli, Yadav thought for a while before cheekily responding, “Me,” after which he had a hearty laugh. In fact, Suryakumar was right in answering this question as a staring contest did happen between the duo during an IPL 2020 league fixture between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

In the second innings, Virat and the Mumbai cricketer had that famous stare-off when the former went towards him as a way of playing mind games with the batter who was looking in omnious touch with the bat.

Nonetheless, Yadav kept his composure and looked Virat Kohli right in the eyes confidently without any lapse in concentration. Not only did he help the eventual champions get over the line but was also lauded for keeping calm during a tense situation.

Suryakumar Yadav has amassed over 1000 T20I runs this year

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has enjoyed a dream run this year in the shortest format. He has registered two overseas T20I centuries to his name. The first one was against England in July and the recent one was scored against New Zealand. The 32-year-old will finish 2022 with 1164 T20I runs averaging 46.56 at a strike rate of 187.43 in 31 matches.