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Happy Birthday SKY!! Celebrating the Hero Who Ended India's 13-Year World Cup Wait With a Stunning Catch

Suryakumar Yadav in the T20 World Cup 2024 final [X]Suryakumar Yadav in the T20 World Cup 2024 final [X]

Cricket has evolved and changed rapidly over the past decade. It has been quite a journey from purists enjoying orthodox cricket for five days to fans cheering for their favourite superstars over three overs of intense action.  As the game has evolved, the style of play has changed. The copybook batters showing proper technique and tiring out the bowlers with proper defence is no longer in fashion. As a modern-day cricketer, you need to be able to play shots to all parts of the ground and increase your scoring rate at all stages of the game. 

India has produced some of the greatest batters ever graced the game. In the age of Test cricket dominance, India produced batters like Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath. During the ODI era, we saw the rise of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. In this modern era of T20 cricket, India has produced one of the best in the format—Suryakumar Yadav. 

India's own Mr. 360° turns 34 today, September 14th, 2024. On this special day, we take a look at the dynamic cricketer's evolution and cricketing journey. 

Suryakuymar Yadav's early struggles in his career

A few decent performances in the domestic arena earned Surya an IPL contract for the Mumbai Indians in 2011. However, in the next couple of years, Surya played only a single game for one of the most successful teams in the league's history. 

In 2013, Kolkata Knight Riders secured the services of the dynamic middle-order batter SKY. From the 2014 season of the tournament, SKY started to get regular IPL action. However, the franchise's projection of the batter as a finisher did not go well for him. 

Mumbai Indians decided to re-sign him in 2018. This move by teams in the IPL changed the trajectory of Suryakumar Yadav's career. This time, Mumbai Indians took better care of him. He got to bat up the order and started to impact matches in his unique ways. 

SKY's big India break

Surya's consistent performance in the IPL finally earned him a spot in the Indian team for T20Is. He made his debut against England and impressed in the very first innings that he batted. Surya scored his maiden half-century in the fourth match of the series and showed signs of the great things that were to come later on from his bat.

Since then, Surya has excelled at the highest level in this format. From scoring impactful Hundreds to gaining the number one ICC rank in the T20Is, SKY has done it all in his young international career. 

Besides some of his memorable knocks in the format, Indian cricket fans will forever remember him for taking the catch of David Miller in the T20 World Cup 2024 final. It was one of the most calm and composed fielding efforts by the player in a high-pressure situation, an effort that ended a 13-year wait for India. 

After the World Cup, Rohit Sharma stepped down as captain and announced his retirement from the format. This saw Surya take over as captain for India in T20Is. 

The Indian team is transitioning, especially in the T20 format, under Surya and head coach Gautam Gambhir. On a special day for Surya, every Indian fan hopes that he brings even brighter days and greater glory to the team as a batter and captain.