Suryakumar Yadav says delayed debut and struggles made him hungrier to succeed

Surya
produced
yet
another
incredible
knock
in
the
shortest
format
–
a
51-ball
112
not
out
–
as
India
outplayed
Sri
Lanka
by
91
runs
in
the
third
T20I
to
secure
a
memorable
2-1
series
win
here
on
Saturday.

“It
does
make
me
even
more
hungrier
(sic)
now,”
Surya
told
India
head
coach
Rahul
Dravid
when
asked
if
the
long
wait
has
taught
him
to
value
his
success
a
lot
more.

“I
mean
the
amount
of
domestic
cricket
I
have
played,
I
have
always
enjoyed
playing
that
for
my
state
side
Mumbai
and
I
always
try
to
put
up
a
show.

“Enjoyed
batting
even
there
as
well.
Yes
it
was
a
little
challenging
in
the
last
few
years
but
kept
telling
myself
this
is
why
you
play
this
game,
enjoy
it,
the
passion
for
this
game
kept
me
driving
so
I
just
kept
going.”

𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐒𝐊𝐘’𝐬
𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬
𝐓𝟐𝟎𝐈
𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲
𝐢𝐧
𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐤𝐨𝐭
🎇

Head
Coach
Rahul
Dravid
interviews

@surya_14kumar
post

#TeamIndia’s
victory
in
the

#INDvSL
T20I
series
decider
👌🏻👌🏻
–
By

@ameyatilak

Full
Interview
🎥🔽https://t.co/nCtp5wi46L
pic.twitter.com/F0EfkFPVfb

—
BCCI
(@BCCI)

January
8,
2023

The
interaction
between
the
two
was
organised
by
BCCI
TV.

“It
is
lovely
to
have
someone
here
with
me
who,
as
a
young
kid
growing
up,
did
not
watch
me
bat.
And
I
hope
you
didn’t,
I
am
sure
you
didn’t,”
Dravid
started
the
chat
on
a
lighter
note,
to
which
Surya
replied,
“No,
I
did
watch
(you
bat).”

Surya’s
batting
is
a
stark
contrast
to
the
way
Dravid
played
his
cricket,
and
the
former
India
captain
was
alluding
to
that
only.
Dravid
then
asked
if
he
could
pick
one
or
two
knocks
that
he
feels
are
his
best.

“It
is
actually
difficult
for
me
to
pick
any
one
innings…
I
enjoyed
batting
in
all
the
difficult
situations
where
I
went
into
bat.
I
just
enjoyed
myself,
whatever
I
did
in
the
last
one
year.
I
have
been
doing
the
same
thing
again.

“As
I
said
before
as
well,
I
just
try
to
enjoy
and
express
myself
as
much
as
possible.
In
those
difficult
situations,
teams
try
to
pull
the
game
off.
I
try
to
take
the
game
on.
If
it
works
well
for
me
and
the
team,
I’m
happy,”
said
Surya.

The
middle-order
batter’s
century
was
his
third
in
the
format
in
just
seven
months,
making
him
the
first
player
in
the
history
of
the
game
to
score
three
T20I
hundreds
when
not
opening
the
batting.
So
how
many
shots
from
his
bat
are
pre-determined?

“I
mean
obviously
in
this
format
you
have
to
be
a
little
bit
pre-determined,
and
at
the
same
time
you
have
to
have
another
stroke
as
well
if
the
bowler
is
a
step
ahead
of
you
during
that
time.
But
yes,
I
try
to
play
to
the
field
what
fielders
are
in,
what
bowler
can
bowl
at
that
time
and
it
works
out.”

“If
I
am
meeting
the
ball
really
well
or
I
mean
I
try
and
set
the
field
for
myself
whenever
any
left-arm
spinner
or
leg-spinner
or
fast
bowler
is
bowling
and
just
try
and
time
the
ball
as
much
as
possible.”

Surya
also
credited
his
family
for
his
immense
success
in
recent
times
and
Dravid,
who
was
in
charge
when
the
batter
was
finding
his
feet
at
the
India
A
level
for
years,
lauded
the
role
played
by
his
folks.

“I
mean
the
role
of
the
family
has
been
most
important
in
my
cricketing
journey
till
now.
When
I
started
playing
cricket,
they
were
the
ones
who
helped
me
out
of
the
box.
Because
my
dad
is
an
engineer,
so
in
my
family
there
is
no
history
of
sports.
I
had
to
be
a
little
different
for
him
to
see
a
spark
in
me
and
push
me.

“They
have
sacrificed
a
lot
and
obviously
my
wife.
After
we
got
married
she’s
been
pushing
me
really
hard
in
terms
of
nutrition
and
in
terms
of
staying
fit.

“We
have
been
talking
about
cricket
a
lot
when
I
go
back
home
and
we
discuss
how
we
can
do
better,
how
we
can
be
one
step
ahead
at
this
level
and
we
really
enjoy
doing
that.”
Dravid
concluded
the
interaction
by
saying,
“Long
it
may
continue.”