'I thought I was going to get the call' - Suryakumar Yadav opens up on 2020-21 Australia tour snub

Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav has opened up on how disappointed he was when he was not picked in the Indian squad for the tour of Australia last year. The right-handed batter stated that he had scored runs in the 2019 and 2020 IPL seasons and had also performed well in domestic cricket.

Yadav admitted that he was hoping that he would be picked in the Indian squad for the tour of Australia, and his long wait to represent the Indian cricket team would finally come to an end.

“Almost half the IPL was over before that match (against RCB) happened. I still remember the Indian team (for the tour of Australia) was going to be announced. I had a good IPL 2019 and 2020 season, and I scored runs in domestic cricket as well.

I expected that I would get a call. It was not an arrogant thought like ‘yes, I am going to get a call’. But, back of the mind, there was this hope that the long wait would end,” said Yadav in a conversation with Vikram Sathaye.

From my side, I was trying to do everything possible: Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav admitted that he was disappointed when his name was not there in the Indian squad for the tour to the land of the kangaroos. Yadav revealed that he took his wife for a walk to the beach and was constantly thinking about his Indian team snub at that point.

“When I saw the squad, and my name was not in it, I was a little disappointed. From my side, I was trying to do everything. I took my wife to the beach for walks, and missed a few practice sessions, as I was thinking about that (not being selected) only,” added Yadav.

Yadav also added that then came the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side, where Zaheer Khan and Mahela Jayawardene came to him and told him that this was the ideal game for him to prove his worth. Yadav concluded by stating that he did not know what was happening around him when Zaheer and Jayawardene were having a chat with him.

“One day, Mahela and Zak came up to me, and said that this was the perfect opportunity to prove myself as it was MI vs RCB. I said, ok, but back of the mind, I was lost and disappointed. I didn’t know what was happening even as the trainers and captain were speaking to me,” concluded Yadav.