Surya Kumar Yadav’s tale of triumph

Brut India

He was in the India squad for the 2023 World Cup, but there was a time when his career wasn’t progressing. In this chat, Surya Kumar Yadav recalls the tough times.  Oaktree Sports

Transcript

00:00People keep talking on the side, that you'll be there, you'll be there.

00:03And if he doesn't come, then you're thinking, how did this happen?

00:07I said, is this really real?

00:10He looked at me and said, you'll play today.

00:14I said, okay, why are you scaring me?

00:24We know the quality of him. He's got shots all over the ground.

00:30FIGURE 10

00:31FIGURE 10

00:32FIGURE 10

00:33FIGURE 10

00:34FIGURE 10

00:35FIGURE 10

00:36Not just you, me, all your fans, everybody was saying,

00:39boss, give him the India cap.

00:42What are you doing?

00:43I mean, now he's giving it to me.

00:45It's justified that he's going ahead. Now give him the cap.

00:48I can imagine you'd be a little disappointed, right?

00:51Because all the runs are coming in.

00:54You're seeing shots of different places.

00:55Everyone is saying that it should be done.

00:57Still you haven't got it yet.

00:58As soon as the IPL started and as soon as I was going to the IPL,

01:01then a tour came.

01:03Two or three spots were announced and I was not there.

01:06I mean, I was hearing this from the rest of the people.

01:09People kept talking on the side, that you'll be there, you'll be there.

01:12And if I didn't come, then you're thinking,

01:15how did it happen?

01:17It was going well for the last two years.

01:20It feels like, what do I do now?

01:22And then, they also asked me,

01:26I'm disappointed.

01:27I said, what do I say now?

01:28You can understand it by looking at it.

01:30You must be feeling it too.

01:32Then the match came.

01:34At the time of the match, Zaheer Khan and Mahila Jayawardhan

01:38explained it to me, I said, I think this is the perfect opportunity for you.

01:42Here, show everyone what you have got.

01:46I said, okay.

01:47But still, I was thinking,

01:51you keep thinking about the human tendency, how to do it.

01:53But, it was good that I got the feeling first.

01:56So, gradually, the rush of blood was reduced.

01:59The adrenaline was very low.

02:02I wasn't thinking much.

02:03Everything was going on its own, in motion, as it should be.

02:06The target came, the situation came.

02:08I said, boss, this is the time.

02:11If I run it here, then everything will fall in place.

02:15It happened as it was, and then we won the match.

02:18And everything was like...

02:19We roamed around the dressing room.

02:21And the family members were sitting upstairs.

02:24I looked at them and said, boss, it's me.

02:28Don't worry.

02:29Nice.

02:30It was very instinctive.

02:31I didn't think that I would win or do this or that.

02:35I roamed around the dressing room.

02:37I wasn't too sure or anything.

02:39Whatever came to my mind at that time.

02:41The last breath I took after the match,

02:44that was proper satisfaction.

02:46So, then, after such a long wait,

02:48when you got the India cap, when the name was announced,

02:51what was the...

02:52Can you describe what the feeling was at that time?

02:55Actually, I closed the door and sat alone in the room for 5-10 minutes.

02:59I pinched myself.

03:01I even gave myself a slap.

03:03I asked, is this really happening?

03:06I called everyone at home,

03:09my mom, dad, sister and wife, to talk.

03:12They were obviously crying.

03:14I said, okay, it's an emotional moment,

03:17but please sing a little.

03:19But that 5-10 minute moment,

03:23after I closed my eyes, I remembered everything.

03:25What I did in the last 4-5 years.

03:29I mean, the places where I had to show my discipline.

03:33I remembered all those places.

03:35And when you got the cap, who gave it to you?

03:37Actually, Ravi sir gave me the cap.

03:39He called me in the afternoon.

03:42He called me in the afternoon and sat by the poolside.

03:45When he called me, I felt that something was happening today.

03:49Come down. Come to the pool.

03:51He called me and said, come to the pool.

03:53I said, okay, sir. Coming.

03:54After going down, I looked at him and said,

03:58you will play today.

04:00I said, okay, sir. Why are you scaring me?

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