Watch the ball is what I say to myself always: Suryakumar Yadav

The rise of Surykaumar Yadav has been steady. While he did make a name for himself with some brisk knocks for the Kolkata Knight Riders, it has been his time at the Mumbai Indians where the flamboyant right hander has realised his potential. Following his exploits for the five-time champions in the Indian Premier League, SKY was given the elusive India cap for the T20I series against England not too long ago. 


One of the most stylish batsmen going around, Suryakumar Yadav has the ability to play shots all across the ground which makes for pleasant viewing. His trademark extra cover drive has been a signature of his career so far. During a recent video posted by the Mumbai Indians, SKY revealed what he does to always keep his focus on the game. 


He spilled the beans stating that he has written 'WTB' (Watch the Ball) all over the bat so that whenever he faces a ball he gets a reminder that seeing the ball is the most important thing. He also revealed what motivates him to keep doing well over the years. 


“If I run two continuously on successive deliveries, I get tired and end up playing a loose shot the next ball. So to remind me of that situation, I just write ‘Watch the Ball’ that’s it. People used to say that you have become childish and all, I reply okay doesn’t matter. I am not here to please anyone,” Surya said. 



“I just need to think what the situation is. That time I just watch the ball and react according to what’s happening out there and not thinking that what he is going to bowl or I need to play this stroke or something like that. So it keeps me in the present,” Suryakumar quipped. 


In all likelihood, Surykumar Yadav will be a part of the limited overs squad for the tour of Sri Lanka and he will definitely look to make a strong case for himself for selection in the T20 World Cup squad. With several frontline players not being part of the series, it will give a huge opportunity to SKY to make sure that he makes the No 3 position his very own. 

Discover more
Top Stories
news

India's bowling coach Bharat Arun commends 'all-rounder' Shardul Thakur, rues missing Hardik Pandya

India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun has spoken very highly of Shardul Thakur who can offer an all-around dimension to the Indian Test team. However, he said that deciding on his future with respect to his presence in the team and finding more such players is up to the selector. “It is more of a selectors’ job to find them and then we can develop those all-rounders. Shardul has proved he can be an all-rounder. What he did in Australia was fabulous,” Arun said during the interaction facilitated by Ironwood Education Company. Shardul Thakur has come into the reckoning for his dual performances in the Brisbane Test against Australia where he scored 67 runs with the bat to bail India out of trouble in the first innings and scalped seven wickets across both innings to give India a chance of winning the game and the series. Subsequently, he has been included in the Indian squad for the tour of England where they are slated to play six Test matches starting with the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and then a five-match Test series against hosts England. India did not select either of Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who could have performed in both disciplines. Arun also rated Pandya’s ability very highly and said India would not find such talents so easily. He lamented the back injury and the subsequent surgery he suffered meant that the all-rounder had to give up on bowling. “I wish you could just wish and develop bowlers like that. Hardik is an outstanding talent, but unfortunately, he had to undergo a back operation and then it’s not very easy to come back after that. He bowled against England, I thought he did a really good job. But, to sustain that we need to manage him well and build on his strength,” he added. India will depart for the UK in the first week of June and play New Zealand in the WTC final from June 18. The team will meet England in the Test series starting in the first week of August.

news

India retain top spot in ICC Annual rankings update; South Africa equal their lowest ranking in history

The Indian team emerged as the top-rated Test team after the annual rankings were updated by the International Cricket Council for the cycle of May 2020 to May 2021. The update released on Thursday, May 13, also sees the other World Test Championship finalists New Zealand lurch behind the Indians by just one point. But, with the latest update being issued which rates the matches played in the last 12 months at 100% and those played in the preceding 24 months 50%, Australia have been relegated to the fourth position. But thanks to the same system, England’s 4-0 defeat to Australia in 2017-18 Ashes is out of the consideration zone for rankings and has put the Poms to number three. South Africa on the other hand have been forced to seventh position in the lastest rankings because of their dismal run in Test cricket over the last 24 months. This is also their lowest ever ranking in the history of the game so far. Among the gainers is West Indies, reaching to the sixth position, their best ever in last eight years, courtesy a 2-0 series win against Bangladesh and 0-0 draw at home against Sri Lanka. Pakistan after winning two back to back Test series against South Africa and Zimbabwe remain at the fifth position as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe complete the rest of the table. Although Afghanistan and Ireland also have Test statuses, they have not been able to get a lot of games to be ranked thus far.