The former Mumbai skipper, who has found himself in the midst of controversies in the past, has a point to prove while leading a young team in the T20 Mumbai League.
Leadership isn’t something new for Suryakumar Yadav. After all, he has led Mumbai before and also been vice-captain of Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. But as the 27-year-old himself admits, leading Mumbai North East franchise ‘Triumph Kings’ in the inaugural T20 Mumbai League will not be a cakewalk.
Surya’s last brush with captaincy wasn’t a pleasant one as the Mumbai Cricket Association reprimanded him for disciplinary issues and he had to resign midway through the 2014-15 season due to Mumbai’s ordinary showing in the Ranji Trophy. Later as a player, he found himself in the midst of more controversies. Now, a much matured Yadav, who has been deputy to Aditya Tare in recent times, has a point to prove while leading a bunch of youngsters in the inaugural Twenty20 League.
The batting mainstay for KKR in the last four seasons, was bought for a whopping 3.20 crore by Mumbai Indians in the January IPL players auction. At seven lakhs, he is the most expensive player in the T20 Mumbai League along with Ajinkya Rahane. The franchise will hope their icon player gets things delivered for owners Transcon Developers.
“I am not under any pressure as I have been playing this format for Mumbai for the last 4-5 years and also in the IPL. I have to continue that. As an icon player it is an added responsibility on me. Captaincy is a great challenge for me. I have played local cricket with these players and I know their strengths and weaknesses. I am sure we will do pretty well on the field,” he said to this paper during his team’s training session at MCA stadium, Bandra Kurla Complex on Friday.
The middle-order batsman, who didn’t enjoy a sound Ranji Trophy season in terms of runs but somewhat made for it in the T20 and one-day format, will be keenly watched as a leader not only by MCA but also Mumbai Indians.
“Currently I am focusing more on leading this team and will try to win games for them. If that opportunity comes (to lead Mumbai again), I would love to take it,” he added.
The stylish right-handed creative batsman joined the team’s training sessions from Thursday morning after finishing his engagements with the India A team led by Maharashtra’s Ankit Bawne in the Deodhar Trophy in Dharamshala. Before that he played in Vijay Hazare Trophy, so he has to settle in to the Twenty20 mode again. “As a player every tournament is important for me. The Deodhar Trophy was a different format (50-over). In T20, you have little time to think and leading in this inaugural tournament in Mumbai will be a great challenge for me,” he said
With Dhawal Kulkarni injured, Yadav will have to rely more on Mumbai players Akash Parkar and Shashank Singh. There are some talented players in the squad who are consistently knocking on the doors of the senior Mumbai team. Surya feels the team is fully charged. “The team looks in very good nick and very good shape. I joined training yesterday and thought it will be little difficult to cope up with little things but they were already prepared in the previous sessions. They were ready, pumped up and obviously excited for league happening first time in Mumbai,” he signed off.
