Suryakumar Yadav eyes new dawn

Triumph Knights Mumbai North East captain Suryakumar Yadav lifts one against Aakash Tigers during a T20 Mumbai League match at the Wankhede Stadium recently. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Mumbai batsman Suryakumar Yadav revealed yesterday that he used to spend a lot of time brooding over his missed chances for the India and or India 'A' squads. But his Indian Premier League (IPL) season with Mumbai Indians (MI) has changed all that.

Suryakumar, who helped MI to their fourth IPL title by scoring 424 runs, did not find a place the India 'A' team which will play one-dayers and four-day games against Sri Lanka and West Indies.

Rohit Sharma

Process is king
"I had chats [about the missed opportunities] with a lot of players during the IPL. I had a word with Rohit Sharma as well. He said, in the end what matters is how you enjoy sport. If you always think about the result, the routine you follow will be affected. I follow that now. Rather than thinking about the result, I think about the process. I just believe in following a process. If it has to come, it will come," said the T20 Mumbai League's Triumph Knights Mumbai North East skipper.

It must be stressed that he led an India U-23 team in the Emerging Teams Cup at Singapore in 2013, a side that included players like Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul. Suryakumar, who emerged the second top-scorer for Mumbai Indians after Quinton De Kock, added: "It was easy to learn from them [MI teammates]. I just had to copy them - what they do in the dressing room, how they express themselves on and off the field..."

Several upheavals
He has had to face several upheavals especially when it came to red-ball cricket. The down moments included getting dropped from the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team and he put them in perspective: "Ups and downs are part of this game; you have to take them in your stride.

When I was dropped, I just kept things normal and reminded myself that it was not the end of the world. There will be light at the end of the tunnel. I thought let me just change gears and practise for other formats which were coming up in a few weeks' time. I knew the DY Patil T20 League was coming up and there were games where I could prove myself. Rather than getting emotional and stressed, I thought let's try and talk with my bat. I had a good white-ball season with Mumbai and IPL and hopefully this continues," added Suryakumar, who has so far scored 132 in the T20 Mumbai League, including an unbeaten 90 against Aakash Tigers in the opening game.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates