I have always dreamt of playing under Virat Kohli: Suryakumar Yadav

Ahead of joining Team India for the upcoming T20I series against England, Suryakumar Yadav has expressed his excitement over playing under Virat Kohli. Earlier this month, the Mumbai star earned his maiden India call-up for the five-match series, scheduled to start on March 12. The series will get underway after the ongoing Test series ends.

Having made his debut in first-class cricket way back in 2010, Suryakumar will be desperate to make the chance count. The right-handed batsman was expected to be a part of India’s squad for the tour of Australia after IPL 2020 but was surprisingly snubbed by the selectors. He had recently revealed how tough it was for him to deal with the snub and how he recovered from the setback.

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Suryakumar has been performing consistently in the domestic circuit and in IPL from the last few years. In the 2019/20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he had scored 392 runs at a strike rate of 168 and averaged 113 from four innings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20 tournament. In the last three IPL seasons, he has scored 512, 424, and 480 runs. Earlier this week, Suryakumar celebrated his India call-up with a whirlwind knock of 133 off just 58 balls against Puducherry in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Excited to go and learn a lot from Virat: Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav is looking forward to taking some valuable tips from Virat Kohli in order to become a better player. The 30-year old said he has already dreamt of playing under Kohli as he expressed his excitement over finally being able to share the dressing room with the India skipper. Suryakumar, who had famously given a silent reply to Kohli’s on-field tactics in IPL 2020, said that the 32-year old’s attitude on the field is remarkable.

“Firstly, (I am) looking forward to spending some quality time with the team and soaking in the atmosphere when I reach Ahmedabad. I have always dreamt of playing under Virat Kohli for a long time and I am excited to go and learn a lot from Virat as quickly as I can so that I can be a better player,” Suryakumar Yadav told BCCI.

“I have played against him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the way he reflects his energy on the field even after achieving so much for India is remarkable. I have seen him on the field keeping himself charged all the time. His want-to-win attitude is something to learn,” he added.

Speaking further, the Mumbai Indians star revealed how he has learned so much about Kohli from his IPL teammate Hardik Pandya. Suryakumar said he always tried to learn about Kohli’s batting from Pandya.

“Over the years, playing with the Mumbai Indians, I have got to learn and know so much about Virat from Hardik Pandya as well. Whenever we have been together, I have asked Hardik what Virat does differently during the practice sessions that he is the best on the ground.

“Hardik has also told me that Virat practices differently, the energy he has in the practice sessions be it batting or fielding is completely different and he is the same on the ground. So, these are some of the things that I want to learn from him which make him the best,” Yadav said.