Mumbai, Nov 22: Anguished beyond words after being overlooked for the tour of Australia, Suryakumar Yadav found comfort in a pep talk with Rohit Sharma.
Soon after his conversation with Mumbai Indians’ inspirational captain, Suryakumar’s mind was suddenly wired for distraction, and his bat ready to do some more talking. “That time in the gym Rohit was sitting besides me and he just looked at me, and I said, ‘obviously, I am a bit disappointed’, because he could see that I was expecting some good news,” Suryakumar told PTI in an interview.
The non-selection, despite his prolific run in domestic cricket and the IPL, extended Suryakumar’s wait for an India cap. He said that “those words” from Rohit helped him come out of the disappointment.
“I really felt good because I knew how I was feeling at that time and even he could see it in my eyes clearly. I think to come out of that was a big boost for me,” he said.
The 30-year-old Mumbai batsman conceded that the team selection for the Australian tour was at the back of his mind even though he did try a few things to distract himself from the thought.
“During this tournament actually I was a bit disappointed. I knew the team was going to come out, and the same day I tried myself to keep busy, just try and avoid getting that thought — there is a squad selection tonight. “So I thought I’ll just focus on my process and my things properly and instead of thinking about the call up, I will try and keep myself busy, I can go to the gym or maybe spend time with my teammates.
“But yes, at the back of the mind, there was a thought that the team is coming out tonight,” he admitted. And when he saw that his name did not feature in the list, Suryakumar was hurt. “I sat in a room and started thinking, why my name is not there, but after looking at the squad there were lot of players who got lot of runs as well and even they have been playing consistently, doing well for India, doing well in IPL.
“Then I thought instead of thinking about that, I’ll just try and keep scoring runs, do my job, what’s in my hand, what’s in my control, and then wait for the opportunity, whenever it comes, grab with both hands,” he said. (PTI)
