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Suryakumar Yadav: I will try to make my case stronger for a national call-up

By Mumbai Indians

Suryakumar Yadav had a fantastic Dream11 IPL season this year which saw MI lifting the trophy for a record fifth time.

The right-handed batsman played a crucial role as he scored 480 runs throughout the tournament. Suryakumar has been MI's highest run-scorer in the last three years of IPL. His presence at number three added a lot of stability to the middle order.

In a detailed interview with Sports Tak, Suryakumar shared his thoughts on MI's winning campaign in the IPL, waiting for a national call-up and Rohit's captaincy.

IPL 13 gave us reasons to be the happiest

"Ahead of the season, I had set some goals and I am happy that I could contribute to the team. I wanted to deliver when chips were down and fortunately everything panned out well. During the preparations, we as a team made a slogan, 'creating history', and wanted to win the title in 2020 which is an even year. Mumbai Indians have never won in an even-numbered year. So, I have to say IPL 13 gave us reasons to be the happiest."

MI management is the backbone of this well-oiled team

"Mumbai Indians have some amazing former players like Zaheer Khan, Mahela Jayawardene, and Shane Bond in the support staff. They are the backbone of this well-oiled team. They want everybody to play with freedom and, in the process, the players play to their potential. This is very crucial and makes everybody perform consistently. Coach Jayawardene is a calm guy who knows what he wants from each player. The dressing room atmosphere is chilled out with Hardik, Krunal, Ishan being in their element. Plus Rohit Sharma’s leadership is fantastic."

79* against RCB was my favorite innings of the season

"My favorite innings was 79* (43) against Royal Bangalore Challengers (RCB). We were chasing 165. The opponents were coming at us hard and it was amazing to score freely and set up the win. I wanted to prove myself after not finding a place in the Australia-bound team. I also liked my innings of 79 (47) against Rajasthan Royals. Although I love chasing, I enjoyed batting against a good bowling line-up. Chasing a target pumps me up. I like playing my shots and dominate during the chase."

Virat congratulated me after the match

"It was all very instinctive. Virat Kohli is a huge cricketing figure and he plays the game very aggressively. It was an important game for both teams and whatever happened, it did during the game. After the game, we laughed about it and he congratulated me on my batting. Virat’s brand of cricket is top class and the way he dominates world cricket is just amazing. I too look up to him. In the end, it was great to win the game."

I will try to make my case stronger for a national call-up

"Frankly, I was expecting to be selected this time. I was a bit disappointed when I found my name missing. I couldn’t even train that day and it was difficult to take my mind off from that dejection. Even Rohit asked me if I was disappointed and I told him I was. But never mind. I will wait for my chances. There is a lot of time to show my cricket abilities and make my case stronger for a national call-up. I hope I can score big in domestic games and then do well in the next IPL to catch the attention of the selectors."

Sachin asked me to continue scoring runs

"The selection is not in my hand. So, I don’t think much. Even Sachin Tendulkar paaji sent me a message asking me to continue scoring runs and I would like to use the chances and do well. I will try my best to be in contention for the T20 World Cup team."

Rohit puts the team before his own self

"Rohit is a fantastic captain who puts the team first before his own self. He has led MI to five titles due to his fine captaincy and top-class batting. He took over as a captain in 2013 and left his opening slot for me. It was incredible for him to do so. I enjoy it so much when I am batting alongside him."