Ind vs Eng 2021: Virat Kohli asked me to express myself and do what I do in IPL – Suryakumar Yadav

India’s batsman Suryakumar Yadav made his T20I debut in the second T20I against England. However, Yadav didn’t get a chance to bat as India won that game by seven wickets.

Surprisingly Yadav was dropped from the third T20I as the team’s vice-captain Rohit Sharma got back into the final XI.

Yadav once again received his opportunity in the fourth T20I and this time he was able to grab it with both hands. The Mumbai batsman walked out to bat after Rohit Sharma was dismissed early after scoring 12 runs. Yadav got off the mark in international cricket in style as he smashed a six on the first ball he faced.

The 30-year old batsman played his natural game and didn’t take any pressure. Yadav was able to hit the ground running and completed his fifty off just 28 balls. The right-hander scored six fours and three sixes in his blistering knock of 57 runs off just 31 balls. Yadav was awarded the Man of the Match for his performance as India won the game by eight runs.

“The team management and Virat-Bhai asked me to keep it simple, express myself and do what I have been doing in the IPL all along,” said Suraykumar Yadav at the post-match presentation.

Suryakumar Yadav has been a consistent performer in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and his experience of scoring bucket loads of runs in the domestic circuit was palpable when he played against England. SKY, as he is known, had scored 480 runs in 15 innings at an average of 40 in IPL 2020 and a whirlwind strike rate of 145.02.

Yadav added that he tried to be just himself and keep things simple when he was batting. The batsman is delighted to have a great start to his international career.

“Really happy with the way things went. I have always dreamt of playing for India and winning games for the team. Just trying to be myself inside, I keep talking to myself and keep things very simple. I don’t try to complicate things,” said the 30-year-old.

Yadav must have grown in confidence after a fine start to his career. Meanwhile, Yadav was dismissed in a controversial manner as there were doubts whether Dawid Malan had taken the catch cleanly but the third umpire decided to go with the soft signal decision of out.

The series is now tied 2-2 and the decider will be played on Saturday.