After he was informed that the selectors are moving on, Suryakumar Yadav spent weeks at home contemplating whether he should continue playing cricket before rediscovering his passion for the game. Suryakumar, months after leading India to a historic T20 World Cup triumph at home, not only lost his captaincy but also his spot in the T20I squad.
“There are moments in life when God tests your mettle. For 40-50 days I was at home, doing nothing. I was in complete shock and contemplating whether I should continue playing or stop, what is the way forward? A lot of things were going on in my mind,” Suryakumar told Aakash Chopra on the latter’s YouTube channel.
Surya reveals it was his wife who told him how to navigate through that difficult phase, reminding
him how much he managed to achieve in a short span of his international career.
“One day, my wife said just think about why you started playing this game because you were mad, had passion. She said then reignite that passion,” he recalled.
The uncertainty, however, remained.
“I said I have the passion but then what is the road forward? I can’t see anything, it’s all foggy,” he said.
“Then she put it in another way, ‘Just think about what has happened with you in the last five years. People play for 10-15-20-25 years and they don’t get to achieve what you have in the last five years. You played five World Cups, twice won ICC Player of the Year award in T20Is, were no.1 ranked batter, won 2024 T20 World Cup, took that catch that changed your life, won World Cup in India. People take years to achieve this and you ended up doing that in five years. So be grateful.'” Surya said.
Surya was still looking for the motivation to move forward.
“I said ‘Yeah, I am grateful but what next?’ She then said start going to the gym, play tennis-ball cricket, spend time with friends and slowly you will find that drive. 2-3 months later, the drive returned. Thought I will play for my daughter now,” he said.
The India batter said he has since returned to intensive training and batting, while remaining optimistic about what the future holds.
“I have started training, started batting, back in full flow like I used to. Now, nobody knows what’s in store. If they (selectors) have made the call right now, it can change later. You never know. You have to be optimistic,” Surya said.
Surya also made it clear that his focus remains on T20 cricket.
“I want to play cricket. I know how to play this format. I don’t want to talk about ODIs because I’ve tried a lot and didn’t crack it. I have played a lot of cricket in the past 4-5 years and continue playing this format,” he said.
With his future still uncertain, Yadav said he intends to make the most of whatever time remains in his career.
“After four years, I will relax anyway. Whatever time is left, I will continue playing with the same passion as I have. That love, drive, focus, discipline is back and I am on track.”
