Consistency came with my new practice regime: Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav continued to be a persistent threat in the domestic circuit before he donned the Indian colours. Not only did he proliferate in the elite domestic frays, he was equally brilliant in the IPL, showcasing his excellence for both Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians.

Despite such staggering numbers, the competition in Indian cricket has been so steep that in order to break through the ranks, one has to be extraordinary and will have to keep on performing consistently over years. After years of diligence and belief, Surya finally bagged his maiden international call-up. Ever since he stepped foot in the arcade of the big boys, he has been unstoppable.

Talking to ESPNCricinfo, SKY talked in detail about his struggles and how he kept on going strong despite being deprived of a national team call-up. Talking about his building phase, Surya said, “It was a very long stretch. And it was very difficult in that phase to push myself, keep telling myself that the opportunity will come, you just have to work hard. Because everyone I was meeting was telling me the same thing - just work hard, and keep pushing yourself. Sometimes it becomes really easy to say those things and difficult to be practical. I used to do different things every year. "If I do this thing, will this work? If I do that thing, will it work?"

He further added, “After 2017-18, I still remember, me and my wife, Devisha, sat down and decided, let's do some smart work from here on. You have worked hard, and you have come this far, let's do something else and we will see what happens. I started training in a different way. After 2018 I realized what I needed to work on in my game. I started batting more towards the off side. I started dieting. Did a few things which really helped me in the 2018 domestic season and 2019. And going forward, in 2020 my body was completely different.”

He also very talked about the change of his mindset, as he revealed, “It took time. It took around a year and a half for me to realize what my body is used to - what will help me, how can I move forward, and am I moving in the right direction? Eventually, we both realized, yes, we are moving in the right direction. Then everything was on autopilot. I knew what I had to do, how I had to train, and how much practice I had to do.

“Before that, I was just practising, practising, getting a little frustrated sometimes. And I felt there was no quality in that - there was a lot of quantity. But after 2018 there was a lot of quality in my training, diet, net sessions and everything, which helped me really well. And then it was a complete build-up, runs coming in all formats, in the IPL as well. So, consistency came with that and finally I broke the door”, concluded SKY.