Suryakumar Yadav is a great role model for youngsters; deserves spot in Indian team: VVS Laxman

Former India batsman VVS Laxman has said Suryakumar Yadav deserved a spot in the India T20I squad after the latter earned his maiden call-up from the senior national team. Suryakumar is a part of India’s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England. The series is scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad from March 12.

Suryakumar earned the call-up after toiling hard for years in the domestic circuit. In the last 3-4 years, he has performed consistently in domestic circuit especially in white-ball formats as well as in the IPL. 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 tournament.

After those performances, he was expected to make the cut for the home series against Sri Lanka and Australia in January 2020. However, the selectors decided against it.  The calls to include him in the national team further increased after he impressed in last year’s IPL. After scoring 512 and 424 runs in the 2018 and 2019 editions, Suryakumar scored 480 runs in IPL 2020 to help Mumbai Indians win a record fifth IPL title.  Unfortunately, he failed to get a call-up for the tour of Australia before being finally rewarded last month.

Suryakumar Yadav is a great role model for youngsters: Laxman

Speaking on Star Sports’ Game Plan, VVS Laxman hailed Suryakumar Yadav as a role model for youngsters and stated that the 30-year old deserved the call-up. Laxman was all praise for the way Suryakumar did not lose hope and kept working hard in domestic cricket before being finally rewarded by the selectors.

“He (Surya) deserves it, I think he is a great role model for youngsters, especially in India; because they lose patience very quickly – because all positive run getters in first class cricket expect to get into the Indian team – but it is difficult,” Laxman said.

“There is so much of quality, so much of talent and so much of competition, but what did Suryakumar do? – he goes back to first class cricket, scores runs for Mumbai, whenever he gets an opportunity for Mumbai Indians – he is a positive run getter, plays in tough situations and wins the match and that’s what you expect from a player.

“Ultimately there is a saying which my coach taught me early on, ‘If the selectors are not opening the door, break open the door!’, the only way you can do that is by your performance – we’re not sure if he will get to play in the playing XI but he definitely deserves a spot in the squad of that T20 Indian team,” he signed off.

Suryakumar is in good form in the ongoing domestic season too. In the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, he has scored 2 fifties and one century in five games so far. The right-hander would be hoping to get a place in the playing eleven in the upcoming series.