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 Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Last week, Suryakumar Yadav earned his maiden call-up into the Indian squad along with the likes of Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tewatia. Opening up on his selection, Suryakumar revealed that he started after seeing his name in the team.

“I was very excited as I got to know (about the selection). I was sitting in the room, trying to watch a movie, and got a notification on the phone that I was picked in the Indian team for England T20Is. I started crying after seeing my name in the team. I called my parents, my wife and my sister. We had a video call and all of us started crying,” the right-hander told the BCCI in an interview.

“Along with me, they have also been trying to live this dream for a long time. It has been a very long journey and they are the ones who have stood by me throughout. It was really great to see them happy and have those tears of happiness,” he added.

When asked about playing under skipper Virat Kohli, Suryakumar replied, “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, 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.

“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,” said the 30-year-old.

Suryakumar Yadav shares the dressing room with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Krunal Pandya at Mumbai Indians. Talking about his experience of playing at Mumbai, the batsman 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 makes him the best,” said Surya.