'I shut the door, sat alone and pinched myself' - Suryakumar Yadav recalls moments after earning India call-up

Suryakumar Yadav made his first-class debut for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy 2010/11 season. Although he had been an average performer until the 2017 edition of the IPL the contract with Mumbai Indians in 2018 changed his fortunes and he gradually started to make a strong case for himself to don the blue jersey. In 2021, he finally earned a place in the national side.

Yadav recalled that he made a joint video call to his family when he was named in the Indian T20I squad for the England series. He said when all of them were crying, he shut his eyes and remembered all the hardships he faced in the last four to five years to finally arrive at this point in his career. He also felt that he did not have to prove himself at the age of 30 when he has already played so much competitive cricket over the years and had the experience of handling critical situations.

“I shut my door and sat alone in my room alone for 10 minutes, pinched myself, and hit on the back of my head. I was like ‘Is this even real?’. I made a joint video call to my parents, wife, and sister, and all of them were crying. I said I know it’s an emotional event, but let it sink in. But, at that moment I shut my eyes and thought of all that I’d done in the last four-five years,” Yadav said on Gaurav Kapur’s Breakfast with Champions show.

“If you make your debut at 20-21 years, you feel the pressure to perform, but at the age of 30, I didn’t have to prove myself. I had not played for India but I had played so many competitive tournaments and batted in all kinds of situations, so I didn’t feel out of place. I surely had butterflies, there was pressure and my heart rate was fast. But at the back of my mind, I knew not to overthink things, and worry about who’s playing, just play the ball,” Yadav added.

Suryakumar Yadav reveals the support he received from his wife

Yadav reckoned that his U-23 batch-mates like KL Rahul, Axar Patel, and Jasprit Bumrah had already featured for India in 2015-16. “After seeing them, my wife (Devisha) asked me, ‘Why you are not progressing’.” He said Devisha told him to keep a proper discipline in his life, follow time-limits, and remove distractions when he is on the field. He also revealed that in a recent tour to South Africa, Rohit Sharma said to him that Devisha has been the turning point of his life.

“From the U-23 Asia Cup batch-mates, guys like Axar, Bumrah, and KL played for India in 15-16 and kept moving forward. Seeing this, my wife and I started to talk to a nutritionist and proper batting coach, she told me to put effort into every department and see what happens. Keep your time limits, and when it’s time for cricket, remove all other distractions. After my debut game, she said ‘Your journey actually starts now’. You can enjoy it tonight, but from tomorrow, all eyes will be on you, so be careful. Rohit had also said, the turning point of my life is Devisha,” Yadav added.